Boston woman, 26, dies in hospital after being mowed down in road rage killing after fender bender

A road-rage driver got back in his car and steered it through two u-turns before accelerating into a young woman, leaving her fatally injured on a Massachusetts highway, prosecutors have alleged.

Destini Decoff, 26, died in hospital on Sunday less than 72 hours after she was hit at speed by Ryan Sweatt's Honda Civic on Route 85 north of Milford.

Sweatt, 36, told police that he had been threatened with a knife by the four men in Destini's car during the incident at 6pm on Thursday.

But Destini's grieving mother said she hopes he 'burns in hell' after surveillance footage reportedly showed him turning round and steering into the group of friends, rather than driving off. 

'He turned around multiple times and he coulda just kept going,' witness Brett Martin said.

Destini Decoff, 26, was fatally injured on Thursday night when the car she was travelling in became caught up in a road rage incident on Route 85 north of Milford in Massachusetts

Ryan Sweatt, 36, appeared in court on Friday charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, and operating to endanger

But charges are likely to upgraded after Destini died from her injuries in hospital on Sunday

'He could have kept going. He chose to turn around, chose to come back. He knew what he was doing when he went towards that girl.

'I didn't see her go up in the air. But I saw her come down, hit the pavement. It wasn't good from there.'

'I saw her mid-air kind of coming down towards the street, her jacket must've been 20 feet away from her. However she got hit, those clothes flew off.'

Sweatt told police he had left work and was driving home to Milford when the other car pulled in front of him, and its driver slammed on the brakes.

A police officer caught up with Sweatt and saw damage to his windscreen after seeing him speed away.

'They're trying to kill me,' he told the officer, gesturing back to the people gathered around Destini who was lying in a pool of blood.

Destini, 26, was taken to hospital suffering from a brain bleed, collapsed lungs, and fractures to her shoulder, tibia and ribs.

She had an emergency operation to remove her spleen and part of her skull to relieve pressure on her swollen brain but never regained consciousness.

Destini, 26, was taken to hospital suffering from a brain bleed, collapsed lungs, and fractures to her shoulder, tibia and ribs

Tracy Decoff thanked medics at Umass Memorial Medical Center who tried to save her daughter's life and gave her a print-out of Destini's last heartbeats

Her mother Tracy took the decision to switch off her life support system on Sunday evening and swore to win justice for her daughter.

'With every ounce of my being I hope that mf burns directly in hell!' she wrote on Facebook.

'Today my biggest fear as a mother became my reality. My first born child and best friend is no longer with me.

'I don't break promises and I promise you with every ounce of my being I will get justice for you regardless of what it takes.

'Go spread those beautiful wings and fly without pain and suffering.'

Police recovered a knife from the scene but Sweatt was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, operating to endanger and a marked lanes violation.

Police said their investigation suggests that Sweatt 'became engaged in an apparent road rage incident with another vehicle'.

'Some of the occupants of the other vehicle', left their car before Sweatt 'made a U-turn at a high rate of speed and struck the victim in the roadway'.

He denied the charges when he appeared in court on Friday and was remanded in custody pending a dangerousness hearing on Wednesday.

'We knew something was going on. We could tell there's a little road rage going on,' said Martin who saw the incident from nearby Cornell's Irish Pub.

'He was just trying to say he was fearing for his life. That was his story, and he was protecting himself.'

Tracy Decoff thanked medics at Umass Memorial Medical Center who tried to save her daughter's life and gave her a print-out of Destini's last heartbeats.

'I know from working in the medical field you are supposed to hold in your emotions,' she wrote.

'All the doctors, all different types of trauma surgeons were amazing.

'The anesthesiologist cried with me saying how sorry she was. Those trauma ICU nurses are unmatched by no other! Hugging and crying with my other kids and family.

'I had a nurse that wasn't even my daughter's nurse telling me she's from Medway and how popular my daughter is there. 'Medway loves her' is what she said.

Destini's mother Tracy took the decision to switch off her life support system on Sunday evening and swore to win justice for her daughter

'My first born child and best friend is no longer with me,' Destini's mother wrote, 'I don't break promises and I promise you with every ounce of my being I will get justice for you '

'After they called it this nurse let me help her make my daughter's final handprints and printed her heartbeat put in a bottle.

'So many of them said we can tell underneath all her injuries she's a pretty girl.

'I said absolutely beautiful. I will treasure these forever.'

A Gofundme appeal has been started to help Destini's family with her final arrangements.