A security guard has died after an enraged man punched him in the face outside a bar in Chelsea, New York, sending him into a coma.
Duane Patterson, 61, was working at Billymark’s West Bar on Ninth Avenue near West 29th Street when he and a man inside got into an argument around 3 a.m. on Dec. 24, NYPD said.
The brawl occurred outside, where the suspect punched Patterson in the face, knocking him to the ground, where he hit his head. A bartender found him unconscious and called 911.
Patterson, of Fort George, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition with a fractured skull. He spent several days in a coma and police confirmed his death on Monday.
“Duane suffered a head injury and was in a coma for four days,” his daughter, Arianna Buchholz, said in a GoFundMe post.
“The intensive care she received was sadly not enough to revive her spirits,” she wrote. “The family is in need of emotional and financial support during this devastating time.”
Buchholz described his father as a strong and honorable person.
Police are still trying to locate the suspect, who fled on foot.
He is described as a dark-skinned man, in his 40s and 50s, bald and heavily built.
He is last seen wearing a red Champion hoodie, black jacket, black pants, and black running shoes.
The police still don’t know the circumstances that led to the fatal dispute.
