Trial Underway For Man Charged With 'Flash Mob' Assault

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The trial is underway for a 23-year-old West Philadelphia man charged with a "Flash Mob," assault on Broad Street near Bainbridge last year. The incident left a 54-year-old man in a coma for several days.

Victim Thomas Fitzgerald was riding his bike on Broad Street when he was pulled from his bike and beaten. He suffered broken bones, head injuries, and was in an induced coma for four days.

Defendant Stephen Lyde is one of the alleged attackers, although Fitzgerald can not identify him. However, another witness has put Lyde with a group of men who surrounded Fitzgerald after the initial assault. A second eyewitness says that group of men then attacked Fitzgerald again on the ground as others cheered them on. She could not specifically identify Lyde. The defense is challenging the one eyewitness identification.

Reported by: Tony Hanson, KYW Newsradio