Friends and family are asking for help for a woman who was seriously injured by another driver during a road rage incident in Lexington.
Medical bills are mounting for Kasey Dickens, who suffered a concussion, broken nose and an eye injury during the Aug. 19 assault.
Lexington chef Ouita Michel wrote in a Facebook post Saturday that Dickens, “who recently suffered a brutal and unprovoked attack while driving,” is the general manager at the restaurant Honeywood, near Nicholasville Road and Man O’ War Boulevard.
“This devastating incident has left her with significant medical expenses,” Michel wrote. “Now, more than ever, Kasey needs the strength and support of the Central Kentucky community she has served so faithfully. We are asking everyone to rally together and help her through this challenging time.”
A GoFundMe account has been set up by Dickens’ sister, Davis Dickens, who wrote that she may need more than one facial surgery as she recovers. She said the funds will also help with “legal and living expenses due to missed work.”
The family contacted groups that support crime victims, “but an ER visit, CT, office visits and surgery/anesthesia have created a large financial burden,” Davis Dickens wrote in a Facebook post.
Kasey Dickens told WKYT she was stopped at a red light on South Limestone at the intersection with Virginia Avenue with her windows rolled down when she was attacked.
“I hear somebody screaming curse words. Calling me names, grabbing my shoulder,” she told the television station. “Before I get a chance to move, I’m being moved. This man is then punching me in the face.”
She said the man who attacked her said she had gotten too close to his vehicle, a silver four-door Kia, WKYT reported.
An arrest warrant has been issued for the suspect, Darrell Jason Blankenship, 43, who is wanted for second-degree assault and third-degree terroristic threatening, Bluegrass Crime Stoppers said this week.
Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information leading to Blankenship’s arrest.
Blankenship is described as white, with short black hair and brown eyes. He’s about 5-foot-9 and weighs about 120 pounds.
This is not Blankenship’s first time facing criminal charges.
In 2017, he pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault, domestic violence, a charge that had been amended down from second-degree assault, after police said he stabbed another man in an apartment on Dinsmore Drive. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison.
Blankenship also pleaded guilty to complicity to second-degree arson in 2014, after police said he set fire to a house on Sherman Avenue the year before.
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