A white man was pronounced dead hours after being punched in the face by a black man. The reason for the punch? The now-deceased man was hurling racial slurs at the black man, who reportedly worked for FedEx.
According to the Washington Post, in late-September, Timothy Warren was scolded by 55-year-old Joseph Magnuson in Portland, Ore. for driving his truck too fast down the road. After stopping his truck to talk to Mr. Magnuson about how he just wanted to do his job, he began to insult him with several racial slurs.
“[Warren] stepped out of the truck, and both men yelled at each other,” the Post reads. “Magnuson took a swing. Warren swung back, connecting a single blow above Magnuson’s left eye that sent him tumbling to the ground. Magnuson… briefly lost consciousness, then died later that evening.”
The 41-year-old will not be charged with a crime, as prosecutors have determined he acted in self-defense and did not intend to kill Magnuson. It’s unclear, however, if Warren still works for FedEx.
According to reports, Magnuson’s death from the blow was “precipitated by extremely poor health,” and that the punch technically wasn’t fatal- life just comes at you fast, you know?
“Prosecutors and police pieced together the events using accounts from six eyewitnesses with different views of the fight; three of them observed the entire encounter,” the Post continues. “They all maintained that Warren had driven at an acceptable speed and that Magnuson started the incident and then escalated it.”
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