Calgary

Girl burned badly after stranger hurled hot drink through car window in road-rage attack

Calgary police are searching for three people involved in a road-rage incident after someone threw a hot drink through a car window and badly burned a young girl on her face and shoulder.

Girl, 7, suffered 2nd-degree burns on face, shoulder after stranger hurled hot drink through car window

Calgary police are searching for three people involved in a road-rage incident after someone threw a hot drink through a car window and badly burned a young girl on her face and shoulder.

The incident happened as a man was driving home with his family eastbound on 39th Avenue N.E. at about 11:45 p.m. Saturday, police said in a release issued Wednesday.

The suspects in the road-rage attack that left a young girl badly burned were in this silver, four-door sedan, shown in photo from CCTV. (Calgary Police Service)

As he approached 34th Street N.E., a silver, four-door sedan reportedly cruised through a red light in front of him, so he slammed the brakes to avoid colliding and honked his horn.

When both vehicles stopped at a red light at the intersection of 39th Avenue and 36th Street N.E., a man got out of the backseat of the sedan and allegedly threw a hot beverage through the first man's open window, police said.

The drink missed the driver but splashed his seven-year-old daughter, causing "significant burns" to her face and shoulder, police said.

The attacker got back into the sedan, and then drove toward 44th Avenue N.E.

The victim's father tried to get its licence plate but wasn't able to.

Witnesses described the three people in the sedan as follows:

  • The driver was a South Asian man in his mid-20s with a black beard.
  • The passenger was a South Asian man in his 60s with short, white facial hair.
  • The man who threw the beverage is described as a South Asian man in his early 20s, approximately five-foot-eight-inches tall with a solid build. He was wearing a white T-shirt and a hat.

The girl has been released from hospital after being treated for second-degree burns.

Police would like to speak with anyone who might have information about the sedan, its occupants or dash cam footage of the incident.

If you can help, please contact the police by calling the non-emergency number at 403-266-1234. You can also submit tips  anonymously to Crime Stoppers.