THIS is the horrifying moment a pensioner spirals into a fit of rage and allegedly tried to drown a man on crutches in a lake.
Steven Dana, 70, has been charged with the attempted murder of Matt Duffy, 21, after suffocating the man in a horrifying attack in Massachusetts.
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Steven Dana is shown straddling Matt Duffy and plunging his head beneath the water Credit: Benjamin Osmanovic/WBZ News
The 70-year-old slapped the younger man in the face during their dispute Credit: Benjamin Osmanovic/WBZ News
Disturbing footage shows the Hopkinton resident striking Duffy twice across the face before straddling the injured man in the water.
Dana was reportedly arguing with the young man over him and his friends jet-skiing across Maspenock lake.
The dispute quickly escalated and ended with Duffy thrashing for his life in the water in front of his friends.
“He tackled me into the water, then we were fighting, and then he shoved my head under and was not letting me breathe until my friend came up and pulled him off me”, Duffy told CBS News.
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Duffy was shoved into the lake and battered by the older man Credit: Benjamin Osmanovic/WBZ News
Matt Duffy struggled to be free of the pensioner due to his injuries Credit: Benjamin Osmanovic/WBZ News
“I just knew I couldn’t use either of my arms or my leg as they were both broken and it was just praying that he let go or my friends pull him off of me”, he added, recounting the horrifying attack.
Duffy had been in a severe motorbike crash months before and so was too weak to escape the man’s crushing grasp.
Friends hauled the attacker off him and police arrived on the scene just before 7pm on Wednesday to arrest Dana.
Hopkinton Deputy Police Chief Scott van Raalten said the “senseless violence” started when Dana challenged Duffy over his use of the lake, which is only open to Hopkinton residents.
Steven Dana is charged with attempt to murder, strangulation/suffocation and assault on a disabled person Credit: CBS
Luckily Duffy’s friends pulled the attacker off and prevented a tragic outcome Credit: Benjamin Osmanovic/WBZ News
Dana did not believe the young man was a local and “accosted him about the use of the lake”, said cops.
Officer Noah Buentello, the first cop to arrive at the scene, said that Dana told him that “he ‘punched’ one of them and they proceeded to throw him into the water and beat him”.
“I’m really glad that they got him right away”, Duffy said of the police response.
“He did say that he lived by the lake and he was very annoyed with jet skis for some reason. A lot of people think they should be banned even though we don’t bother people,” Duffy added.
The police department urged people to “contact the proper authorities” about suspected rule-breaking “rather than taking matters into their own hands”.
Dana has been charged with attempt to murder, strangulation/suffocation and assault and battery on a disabled person.
In a shocking twist, Dana pleaded not guilty to three of his charges, including attempted murder, on Thursday.
If found guilty however he could face over 20 years behind bars.
