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Victim of alleged assault at Kid Rock concert making progress

By Howard B. Owens

A man who suffered a serious head injury during an altercation at the Kid Rock concert at Darien Lake on July 6 is making medical progress, according to a Facebook page maintained by his family.

Jason McNeil, 43, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., has reportedly been sitting up and communicating with his family.

Here's an entry from Sunday:

Today was a good day. Jason was sitting up, waiting on our arrival. He looked himself and even gave me a kiss! I also got the "I love you" sign before we had to leave. He was exhausted by the end and we left him to rest. Praying for more good days to come.

The man who allegedly hit him, Craig Malcolm Lawson, 34, of Talbot Street, Courtland, Ontario, Canada, was originally scheduled for a court appearance this evening, but that appearance has been rescheduled to Sept 3.

The attorney handling the case for the prosecution, Robert Zickl, is out of the office today, so we don't know why the appearance was rescheduled, but it's also not unusual to change appearance dates at this stage of proceedings.

Lawson was initially charged with a misdemeanor, assault in the third degree, and while it's possible the charge could be upgraded to a felony of assault, 2nd, the prosecution would need to prove the suspect intended to cause serious physical injury to sustain the charge.

According to witness accounts, McNeil was hit once and fell backward, striking his head on the pavement.

He was initially in a coma but according to the Facebook page, he appears to be conscious and aware of the people around him over the past few days.

McNeil, originally from Alden, is reportedly well known in Tuscaloosa for his volunteer and charity work.

His family set up a donation page to help assist with his medical needs, which has so far received more than $44,000 with 11 days left to reach a goal of $50,000. Among the apparent donors was Kid Rock, who reportedly gave $5,000.

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