An Ozarks man allegedly drove to a school for an arranged fight, hurled racial slurs at young teens playing basketball and struck two of them with his car.
Austin T. Fisher, 21, is charged with two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action in the late December incident.
He admitted to being on the scene at a Springfield public school but said he had only intended to scare the teens, both 14, when he pursued them with his vehicle through a field. Fisher also told police he was not aware he had struck the teens until after the incident.
The teens, who are not identified in court records, reported being hit by the front of Fisher's vehicle and being swept onto its hood. One said he struck the windshield.
Both were later treated at a hospital for injuries ranging from a chipped tooth, back, leg and nose pain.
According to the teens, they were playing basketball at the Study Alternative Center when Fisher and other males arrived in a 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier.
They hurled racial slurs at the teens, and a physical altercation ensued, according to court records.
Fisher retreated to his vehicle and "began to drive toward them," the teens told police.
Fisher told police he drove to the school for an arranged fight that he didn't plan to take part in. He claimed he was "jumped" by a group of people, which prompted him to pursue them in his car.
Fisher pleaded not guilty on Thursday. His bond was set at $75,000.
