Tufts Student Arrested After Attacking Tow Truck Driver

– Allison Goldsberry

A Tufts University student has been arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly attacking and attempting to run over a tow truck driver trying to put a boot on his car.

The victim, Pat Wild of Pat’s Tow Service, said Tufts student Antuan Johnson threw him to the ground and tried to run him over after Wild attempted to put a parking boot on Johnson’s black Mercedes SUV, which was parked at 9 Whitfield Road in Somerville. Wild said Johnson pushed him to the ground, threw the boot in the street, and sped off, narrowly missing Wild after he rolled out of the way.

Wild, who suffered some back pain after the incident, said he has never experienced anything like this in his twenty years on the job.

Ironically, it was Wild who discovered the car two days later after he was called to tow a vehicle parked on Boston Avenue in Medford.

Wild said he thought Johnson was trying to hide the vehicle, and he recognized the black Mercedes SUV with Texas plates instantly, and soon after police were able to apprehend Johnson.

According to the Tufts Daily, police arrested Johnson when he went to the station to claim the car after police told him they had found the vehicle. The Daily reports that Johnson initially told police the car was in Connecticut with his girlfriend.

The incident happened on January 24, and Johnson was arrested a week later on January 31 on a warrant, according to Somerville Police Lieutenant Dan Cotter.

According to the Daily, Johnson is a 23-year-old senior.