The Madison Police Department is investigating an incident where a bi-racial woman was allegedly burned with lighter fluid by a group of white men as a hate crime.
Police say the incident reportedly happened when 18-year-old, Althea Bernstein, was driving on West Gorham Street in downtown Madison around 1 a.m. Wednesday when she was stopped at a red light at State Street, according to a police report obtained by news site Madison 365.
Bernstein, who works as an EMT, told police that she was listening to music in her car with the driver side window down when she suddenly heard someone yell the N-word “really loud.” She said she turned her head and someone threw what is believed to be lighter fluid on her and then threw a lighter at her.
My neck caught on fire and I tried to put it out, but I brushed it up onto my face. I got it out and then I just blasted through the red light … I just felt like I needed to get away. So I drove through the red light and just kept driving until I got to my brother and Middleton."
According to the report, the lighter fluid was in a spray bottle and was thrown on Bernstein’s face and neck. She was treated for burns at a nearby hospital, and staff told police they believe the liquid was lighter fluid.
Bernstein told police that there were four white men involved in the incident, and two of them were reportedly wearing “jeans and floral shirts.” She said the men appeared to be intoxicated.
The incident happened nearby the area were protests were underway Tuesday night after an activist Yeshua Musa was arrested. In recent weeks, witnesses have reportedly spotted counter-protesters at Black Lives Matter demonstrations wearing Hawaiian-style floral shirts.
Bernstein said she was not involved in protests, but she was aware of the arrest. The 18-year-old told Madison 365 that she was thankful she could seek medical care and survived the incident, despite the burns being painful.
“They had to pretty much scrub the skin off, which was extremely painful,” she said. “Burn pain is something I can’t even really describe. I don’t know how to describe it. It was horrible.”
Investigators are looking are examining surveillance images to see if the assault could be seen on camera.
Anyone with information on this case can contact the Madison Area Crime Stoppers at (608) 266-6014 or by computer at P3Tips.com.
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