A Massachusetts man sentenced to two years for assaulting a woman because she didn’t say hello

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BOSTON – A man who attacked a woman and tried to run her over with a car after she didn’t respond to his “good morning” greeting was sentenced to two years in prison, Suffolk County prosecutors announced.

The incident occurred on July 13 in front of the victim’s home on Balsam Street in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. The woman, who was watering plants in her yard around 9 a.m., told police the man, later identified as Atkinson, became angry when she didn’t answer him. He allegedly shouted: “When people say good morning to you, you should say hello, you crazy son of a bitch,” before getting into a black Mercedes.

According to prosecutors, the woman began recording his behavior on her cell phone, prompting Atkinson to exit the vehicle and attack her. He punched her repeatedly in the face, threw her against a fence, and only stopped when she bit him in an attempt to defend herself. Atkinson then returned to his car and drove towards the victim, narrowly missing him, before fleeing the scene.

When police arrived, the victim was bleeding from a broken nose and had visible bruises on his head and face. Detectives used video footage and a GPS monitor Atkinson was wearing during his previous arrest to identify and locate him. He was arrested a few days later.

“For this victim, a pleasant summer morning, for the most inexplicable reasons, turned into a brutal and cruel ordeal,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. He praised the victim’s courage, noting that her quick thinking in recording the attack provided key evidence in the case.