MADISON, Wis. - Police in Wisconsin say they’re investigating an assault on an 18-year-old woman who is bi-racial as a hate crime.Police said the woman was burned with lighter fluid early Wednesday morning, June 24.According to police, Althea Bernstein was driving on W.
Gorham Street when she stopped for a red light at State Street. Her driver’s side window was down and she heard someone yell out a racial epithet.
She looked and saw four men, all white. She said one used a spray bottle to deploy a liquid on her face and neck, and then threw a flaming lighter at her, causing the liquid to ignite.She drove forward, patted out the flames and eventually drove home, police said.