Man hit with baseball bat had fractured skull, blood clot

The search continues for the suspect in a violent assault in Cedar Rapids over the weekend.

Casey Hoff, 25, of Cedar Rapids, was struck in the head with a metal baseball bat early Saturday morning in a parking lot along Mount Vernon Road, just west of Highway 13. He underwent surgery for a skull fracture and a blood clot in his head, but was released Monday, according to his niece, Ashley Ray.

Hoff and two other men left The Rut Bar and Grill, 6913 Mount Vernon Rd. SE, after midnight and were walking east along Mount Vernon Road, back to a trailer court nearby. Ray said a black pickup that had driven past them multiple times stopped. Authorities said an argument ensued.

"The guy stopped, got out of his truck, hit my uncle with a baseball bat and then jumped back up into the truck and locked the doors," said Ray, whose husband Tommy Ray, 22, witnessed the incident.

Ray said her husband and Dustin Vifian, 22, of Cedar Rapids, approached the truck and Vifian jumped on the back. When the driver sped off, Vifian fell off and his legs were run over by a back tire.

Vifian suffered injuries to his elbow and ankle, but has been released from the hospital, Ray said. He is unable to walk, she said.

Ray said none of the men recognized the suspect. They said he was not at the bar.

"They've never seen this man in their life," Ray said.

The men involved described the suspect as a white man in his 20s with a bald head. He was driving a black Chevy Silverado with red lettering. "Z71" was on the side, and "Off-Road" was on the back, Ray said.

Anyone with information about the case is urged to call the sheriff's office at (319) 398-3511 or Linn County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-CS-CRIME.

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