OAKLAND – A 63-year-old Newark man was found guilty by a jury this week of committing an anger-fueled hate crime on Interstate 880 in May 2023. The attack targeted a Black woman and her three children, prosecutors and court records show. Portions of the attack were captured on cellphone video.
Tracy Robert Blackwell was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and a hate crime, prosecutors said. He is being held in Santa Rita Prison without bail. He faces seven years in prison, prosecutors said, but a sentencing date had not been set Friday.
According to prosecutors and the California Highway Patrol, a black woman and her three children were driving south on Hegenberger Road in East Oakland toward the I-880 on-ramp at around 4 p.m. on May 16, 2023. Blackwell, driving a Jeep Wrangler, cut off all lanes and pulled in front of her, nearly striking her vehicle.
The woman honked at Blackwell before each vehicles entered the highway.
Prosecutors said Blackwell began yelling the N-word and other obscenities at the girl and her children as they were within the driveway and continued doing in order he drove parallel to them on the highway. He also threw unknown objects at their vehicle.
At one point, the mother had her 14-year-old daughter film the encounter on her cellphone, after which Blackwell attempted to ram her vehicle, authorities said. No one was injured.
According to the CHP, Blackwell lost control of the Jeep and crashed within the shoulder of the road but was in a position to proceed driving. He followed the girl and her children to a gas station in East Oakland, where she got help, court documents say.
The CHP eventually identified Blackwell as a suspect and he was arrested on May 19.
In the press release, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price said, “Not only was this incident dangerous, it was traumatic because part of the crime involved racial slurs. My office will not tolerate acts of racist hatred in our community, especially when children are involved.”
According to court records, Blackwell has been convicted of a felony six times since 1984. This features a 2002 conviction for lewd acts on a toddler under 14, for which he served a jail sentence and was required to register as a sex offender.
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