"I felt complete fear for my life, my wife and my daughter"
For the first time, the married father who was nearly beaten to death by a mob of angry bikers in 2013 is speaking publicly, reports CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano.
In court, the man whose beating was later seen by millions of online viewers broke down and told a New York judge in emotional testimony that he was in "complete fear" as the bikers closed in. Two of the eleven bikers charged in the attack are now on trial.
With his face covered by a t-shirt, Wojciech Braszczok entered a Manhattan courtroom. The undercover cop, along with co-defedent Robert Sims, face charges that include assault for participating in the now-infamous road rage incident in which thirty-five year old Alexian Lien was pulled from his vehicle and beaten in front of his wife and young daughter.
In describing the September 2013 incident, Lien said, "I felt complete fear for my life, my wife and my daughter."
The family had planned an afternoon of shopping when they first crossed paths with the bikers on a busy New York City highway.
Lien said the group was holding up traffic, while popping wheelies and slapping passing vehicles. Annoyed, lien's wife threw a half-eaten plum and a water bottle at the group. Eventually, Lien was forced to stop when his car was surrounded.
Through tears, Lien testified: "I'm horrified at this point, and I recall asking my wife, 'What do I do?
"'What do I do?' she says. 'Just go! Just go!"'
As Lien sped off, his tires slashed, he ran over biker Edwin Mieses, who was left paralyzed.
The remaining bikers chased after the startled family and finally forced them to stop in a residential area.
In court, Lien said that was the last thing he remembers.
"I recall taking a couple of hits and my window broke," Lien said. "I covered my head and looked down to protect myself. I remember being pulled out of the vehicle and that's it."
Prosecutors say Braszczok failed to act like a police officer by failing to report the crime or intervening when at all possible.
If convicted, both men could face up to 25 years in prison.