By admin 
JENNINGS, Mo. (KMOV/Gray News) – A Missouri family is pleading for answers after a minor traffic crash over the weekend escalated into a violent attack.
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St. Louis County Police said they responded to the reported crash Saturday evening at an intersection in Jennings.
Investigators say a 63-year-old man, identified by his family as retired truck driver Lance Jeffries, rear-ended another vehicle.
Lance reportedly got out of his car to check on the occupants of the other vehicle. That is when several people exited their car, confronted him angrily and began assaulting him.
“From what we know, they were angry because my dad hit the back of their car,” the man’s daughter, Valancia Jeffries, said. “When he got out of the car to check on the other party, they got out of the car angry and yelling at my dad, and they jumped on my dad.”
Bystander video circulating on social media appears to show multiple people surrounding Lance Jeffries, kicking him, dragging him and repeatedly punching him while he was on the ground.
“The most shocking part of it was when my daddy got kicked in the chest,” Valancia Jeffries said. “The girl kicked my daddy in the chest, and the guy dragged my daddy like he was a piece of lint out of the streets. Like it was nothing.”
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The alleged attackers took off from the scene before police arrived.
Lance Jeffries was unable to provide officers with a statement at the scene. He was rushed to an area hospital, where he remains hospitalized.
Valancia Jeffries said the family was not notified until later that night that their father was in the hospital, only learning the full extent of the attack after arriving at his bedside and seeing the footage online.
“His eyes are swollen shut. He has neck injuries, also. His jaw is swollen,” Valancia Jeffries said. “He has blood clots in his leg and also in his stomach where he was kicked. So now he has to stay in the hospital so he can get surgery, and he’s in a lot of pain.”
Family members described the father as a quiet, retired family man who rarely drives and mostly stays home with his wife. They are now urging anyone who was in the area or recognizes those in the video to contact law enforcement.
“We’re heartbroken. We’re devastated. We want justice. We need justice today,” Valancia Jeffries said.
St. Louis County Police confirmed the investigation remains active and ongoing without any immediate arrests.
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