Warrant issued for 71-year-old accused of hitting disabled veteran in Target parking lot

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Police have issued an arrest warrant for a 71-year old woman who is accused of hitting a disabled veteran with her car, while he was taking his son shopping at Target.

Police say Christine Eisenstaedt is being charged with assault, child abuse, reckless endangerment, and careless driving after hitting the victim on Friday. KRDO13 confirmed Eisenstaedt was a suspect in the incident with the Colorado Springs Police Department on Monday.

The victim, Miguel Tully, is a local tattoo artist who posted a video on social media of the incident that has since gone viral.

Tully, a disabled combat veteran, says he was struck by the vehicle in the parking lot while attempting to shield his 5-year-old son from an oncoming driver.

The vehicle involved is a red Hyundai Ioniq with license plate CLK-R24, according to officials.

The incident began while Tully says he was taking his son on a trip to buy Pokémon cards. Tully reported seeing the red Hyundai involved in a separate accident as it was leaving the parking lot. The vehicle then spun around, coming face-to-face with the father and son.

Tully used his cell phone to begin recording the encounter. Tully said he attempted to warn the driver that his son was in the path of the vehicle.

“I was just flabbergasted and trying to rationalize with her that a child was in front of her and she could see it and she knew it,” Tully said. “To me, it wasn't possible that she was going to come into us.”

The vehicle allegedly struck Tully in the leg during the encounter. Tully noted that the impact aggravated existing service-related injuries to his knee, back, spine and neck.

“I feel like I've been hit by a car,” he said.

Tully, who has a social media following under the name “Yeti Tears,” shared the footage online and the video has since gone viral. He expressed concern regarding how close the vehicle came to his child.

“Somebody's driving into you. Could've easily taken my son's life,” Tully said. “He's very small.”

While the 5-year-old was not physically harmed, Tully said the incident has resulted in psychological trauma for the boy. The child has reportedly begun pointing out every red car he sees.

“He's always like, 'Oh, there's the bad lady. Yeah, she's over there.' He's just always pointing them out,” Tully said. “That's definitely going to be a trauma we're going to have to work through.”

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the Colorado Springs Police Department.

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