A woman who was hit by a car outside a downtown bar said she recieved a cut to her head and scrapes and bruises in the incident, which happened after she and her husband got into an unprovoked fight after a night of drinking.
Krista and Daniel Hill of Columbus had been drinking at Fuhgetaboutit, at 115 Fifth St. S., with two men from out of town whom they had met at The Office bar off Highway 45 North on Saturday afternoon. The Hills said they were just trying to have fun, but the night ended in a scuffle between the two men and Daniel Hill. After being chased off by the nightclub”s bouncer, one of the men got into his car and apparently targeted Krista Hill as he drove onto the sidewalk, at around 1 a.m. Saturday.
“It was definitely intentional,” Krista Hill said. “He knocked me over, and I hit the ground and slid about 10 feet.”
The man also ran over a sign, which struck her in the head, she said.
“I had a gash on the back of my head that I had to get stapled,” she continued. “My ribs are bruised. I have road rash on my arm and scrapes all over my arms and hands.”
Police are still looking for possible suspects. Columbus Police Chief Joseph St. John declined to name persons of interest in the case.
Terrie Songer, public information officer for the Columbus Police Department, said that people have a shorter fuse when they get drunk.
“When alcohol gets involved, it really doesn”t take anything,” Songer said. “It isn”t that Fuhgetaboutit is any worse than The Loft or another place. A lot of bars have a lot of incidents.”
It is still unclear why the brawl began. Daniel Hill speculated that one of the two men was looking for a fight after becoming too intoxicated. The man invited Hill outside but didn”t immediately seem threatening.
“He had his arm around my shoulder like we were buddies,” Hill said. “When we got to the door, he said, ”Were you trying to dance with me?””
Then the man hit Hill in the jaw.
“I looked at him and said, ”Are you serious?”” Hill said. “He said, ”Come on.” So I just beat the hell out of him and threw him on the ground. I said, ”Dude, stop. I”m not here to fight; I”m here to have a good time.””
But the man kept fighting.
“I had my hands around his throat until he was either going to pass out or die because I was so pissed,” Hill said. “In the last little breath he had, he said he was done. The next thing I knew, a beer bottle broke across the side of my face. But I took it like a champ.”
The nightclub”s bouncer ran after the man who struck Daniel Hill with the bottle. The man got into his car and hit Krista Hill with the vehicle.
Other incidents
Another unrelated incident had its roots at Fuhgetaboutit on Sunday morning. Within 10 minutes of the fight with the Hills, an altercation occurred when four men decided to share a taxi on the way from the nightclub to the Columbus Inn and Suites, formerly the Master Hosts Inn.
“Words were exchanged inside the taxi, but it is still unclear as to why the four men started fighting,” Songer said. “Blows started flying in the cab, and of course there”s always alcohol involved.”
The men were construction workers from out of town, Songer said. One of the victims was taken to the emergency room at Baptist Memorial Hospital -Golden Triangle. He received stitches inside his mouth and had a concussion and some broken teeth.
David Wayne Robinson, 35, of 1793 Gibson St. in Fayetteville, N.C., and Robert Hadley, 27, of 210 Sycamore St. in Cookeville, Tenn., were both arrested by the CPD at the Columbus Inns and Suites on Monday. They were charged with aggravated assault; no bond or court date has been set.
The following felony arrest was also reported by the CPD:
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