Police has arrested two 12-year-old boys in East Harlem, New York, for hurling a shopping cart from a fourth floor walkway that hit and critically injured Marion Hedges.
Marion Hedges, 47, has been left fighting for her life after she was struck by the falling cart when the dangerous prank went wrong on Sunday evening.
The mother-of-two, who works as a real estate agent, had been walking with her 14-year-old son on the ground floor when she was hit, according to the New York Post.
Marion Hedges‘ son was not injured in the incident.
According to police report, the cart was thrown from a walkway that connects a parking garage to a Target store where Marion Hedges had just finished shopping.
Marion Hedges, who also has a daughter, was rushed to Harlem Hospital where she is reported to be in a stable condition but remains unconscious.
Police has arrested the two boys, who have been charged as juveniles with felony assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
The boys were arrested after one of their friends reported the prank to the police.
A law-enforcement source told the New York Post:
“They deliberately pushed it over the edge.
“They’re a bunch of stupid kids, they made a bad decision. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
A family friend said that Marion Hedges was shopping for candy at Costco for the Stanley M Isaacs Neighborhood Center, a community centre for the elderly.
Marion Hedges has worked with charities for over 25 years and is currently involved in at least six different projects.
“She is such a super, super nice person,” the friend said.
Marion Hedges’ husband, Michael is flying home from Spain, where he works as the head of emerging markets trading and structuring at Auriga Sociedad de Valoresworks.
Speaking of her condition, Marion Hedges’ father, told the New York Post:
“It’s in God’s hands now. It’s so hard to tell.
“They have her sedated right now, she’s unconscious. It’s not quite clear what happened but I hear she has some broken bones and some cranial injuries – there’s some blood up there.
“They’re letting us up two at a time and we can only stay for five minutes. You can’t really see anything up there – it’s just her lying in a bed unconscious with 50 thousand tubes in her. She’s stable, they’re keeping her stable and her respiratory system is functioning.”
When asked about what should happen to those responsible for throwing the shopping cart, Marion Hedges’ father said: “They should have the book thrown at them.”
A friend of the family added: “That is one tough kid. That little kid marched down to the police department this morning to give a statement. He’s such a tough little kid. They’re the nicest, kindest family.”
At a hearing on Monday, the two boys were remanded in the custody of New York’s Administration for Children’s Services, the city’s child welfare agency and they will attend an arraignment hearing on November 4.
