Police Investigating Hate Crime After Black Wisconsin Teen Is Lit On Fire At Stoplight

This is horrific!!!

Investigators are searching for four white men who allegedly sprayed a Black teen with lighter fluid at a stoplight, lighting her face and neck on fire and calling her the N-word before speeding off. This, according to police reports in Madison, Wisconsin, where the girl — an 18-year-old EMT — was recovering from second and third-degree burns.

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The young woman, Althea Bernstein, was driving to her brother’s friend’s home at about 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday when she approached a red light and stopped, according to the police report. She had her window down, and turned to look when somebody at the light called her the N-word. When she turned to look, one man in the car next to her sprayed lighter fluid in her face, and tossed a flaming lighter at her.

Bernstein drove herself to her mother’s home and then the local hospital for treatment. Medical staffers there determined lighter fluid to be the case of the burns (you can see pictures here). Bernstein is recovering at home right now, but she will apparently need to make further doctor’s visits to continue to be treated for her injuries.

Michael Johnson, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County and a spokesman for the Bernstein family, spoke to the media about the incident on Thursday. He told BuzzFeed News (below):

“It’s totally unacceptable given everything that is going on this country. It’s just unacceptable behavior that we’re just not going to tolerate. [Bernstein’s parents] just wanted to make sure that their daughter heals from this. The mother, she just wants to make sure that her daughter heals and is OK.”

In a separate statement sent to the media, Bernstein’s family added:

“Our family is saddened at what happened to Althea and the unprovoked attack on her body.”

No kidding.

Such a horrifying and traumatic thing to have to go through, especially at such a young age!

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Police are now looking at surveillance images and security camera videos in the area to see if anything was caught on tape. They have not yet released any description of suspects aside from noting Bernstein’s eyewitness claim that there were allegedly four white men in the car when she was accosted.

What a terrifying, despicable, racist act. Here’s hoping Althea can recover from this terrible incident and continue to live her life fully healthy and completely happy once again soon.

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