McBride, B.C.- A man from Alberta is facing  charges after a legally blind man from McBride was found  injured from an assault.

McBride RCMP say , they were called to the area of 1st Ave in McBride at around 4:00 a.m. on December 11 after a local resident found a severely beaten male,  lying in the ditch. The male had been there for some time and was only noticed after his cries for help were heard.

After arriving on scene, police identified the injured male as a resident of McBride. The man had suffered severe trauma to his head and face, to the point of being unrecognizable. Police were tipped to the man’s identity by the white walking cane that was near by.  The victim, a 55 yr old man from McBride is legally blind, is known by the general community and uses a walking cane.

BC Ambulance Services attended the scene,   while police  followed a trail of blood to a vehicle that had crashed into a ditch, a block and a half away.

Police located a male inside the vehicle, in the driver’s seat.

Evidence suggests the victim was in the vehicle at the time of the collision. The two then walked away from the vehicle where at some point during this walk, the assault occurred. There is no indication that the victim was struck by the vehicle. The suspect and the victim  were not known to each other.

The injured man was transported to Prince George hospital with facial and head injuries and was subsequently air lifted to Vancouver for further treatment of a broken jaw and facial bones and a skull fracture.

Michael Allan Richter of Ponoka Alberta has been formally charged with 5 Criminal Code offences including Aggravated Assault, Assault Causing Bodily Harm, Impaired Driving, Obstruct Police and Escape Lawful Custody. He appeared in Prince George Provincial Court on December 14, 2011 and was held in custody. His next court appearance will be on December 21, 2011.