SPOKANE, Wash—83-year-old Larry Curtiss was around the intersection of Lincoln and Third Avenue in mid-May when he said a group of teens stopped in front of his car. Curtiss says the group refused to move, so he got out of his car and told NonStop Local what happened next he wasn’t expecting.
Curtiss said that the teens began taunting him, and then he said things got physical, “I got out of my car, they nailed me.”The teens began to beat him. Curtiss said the first blow was to the head; then they started kicking him, “they hit me so hard I was in agony.”He said he suffered a contusion to the head and a broken nose. The blows knocked his front teeth out, and he was left with his wrist broken in three places.”They could have killed me,” said Curtiss.He added that he is undergoing cancer treatment and is on blood thinners. Curtiss emphasized with the amount of blood he lost, it could have been life-ending.”I could have bled to death.”Curtiss said good Samaritans nearby saved his life. Patrick O’Halloran saw the altercation, called 911, and even chased two of the teens for blocks, trying to catch them. He described the incident as “vicious.””The cheering that they were doing and the taunting and the laugh and after he was laying on the ground bleeding really scared me, and I’ll never forget that image of him falling on facedown on the concrete.”Diane Curtiss, one of Curtiss’s daughters, said she doesn’t remember Spokane being this dangerous. She told NonStop Local that she is looking for answers and is asking the teens she believes are responsible to come forward: “There’s got to be one of you that cares. one of you that has a heart that can come forward and say something so justice can take its course.”Curtiss said he feels grateful to be alive to tell his story and hopes this never happens to anyone, “I’ve lived this long. I’m here for a reason.”NonStop Local reached out to the Spokane Police Department, which said they did respond to the scene and that their Major Crimes Unit is investigating. No arrests have been made in connection to this incident. If you have any information, call Crime Check.
