Crime & Safety

72-Year-Old Woman Dies Following Violent Street Altercation

A woman fell and hit her head on pavement after a passerby violently pushed her to the ground.

A 72-year-old woman has passed away after suffering severe injuries in a street altercation, according to the Suffolk Country District Attorney’s office.

Jamaica Plain resident Tajanetta Downing, 24, appeared in court Thursday on charges of aggravated assault and battery, and assault and battery on a person 60 or older.

A judge ordered Downing held on $75,000 bail, but her bail was revoked due to two other open assault cases, DA’s office says.

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Downing violently shoved Yuzhen Lei to the ground near Chauncey and Essex Streets in Boston’s Chinatown section, prosecutors allege. Lei suffered a “serious head injury” as a result of the altercation.

Investigators believe the two had some fleeting physical contact after which Downing allegedly acted out in a hostile manner, the DA’s office says.

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Lei was rushed to Tufts Medical Center for treatment on Wednesday after banging her head on the pavement. Lei succumbed to her injuries and passed away Thursday evening.

The exact cause and manner of Lei’s death will be determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the DA’s office says.

Prosecutors say Downing fled the scene after the incident, but witnesses in the area contacted Boston Police to report their observations of the encounter.

Authorities have yet to say if they will upgrade Downing’s charges now that Lei has died.

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