"I don't hurt anyone": 89-year-old man fighting for his life after brazen attack
<p>A grandfather is in an induced coma after he was attacked in an unprovoked and random incident. </p>
<p>Adelaide man Francesco Candido was taken to Royal Adelaide Hospital after he was left with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain. </p>
<p>The alleged offender is 33-year-old Joel Page, who admitted he was drunk when he swung at Francesco with a roundhouse punch. </p>
<p>Francesco, who is 89-years-old, was walking through town with two bags of shopping when Joel randomly struck him. </p>
<p>Tragically, it was the first time the grandfather had been into town for more than a year.</p>
<p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“He was so determined to go to town because he hasn’t been for over a year, and I said, you know town can be a dangerous place,” Francesco's on Larry said.</p>
<p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“And he said, not for me, I don’t hurt anyone.”</p>
<p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">His family started to grow anxious thinking Francesco has gotten lost when he didn't return home, before receiving a call from the local police.</p>
<p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020"><span>“I sarcastically say, ‘oh, you’ve found my dad’, and they say, ‘yes we found him but unfortunately it’s bad news’,” said Larry. </span></p>
<p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020"><span>Francesco’s wife of 60 years, his children and grandchildren have spent hours by his bedside since Tuesday, praying for a miracle.</span></p>
<p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020"><span>Larry said he has tried to </span>communicate with his comatose father, but to no avail. </p>
<p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“I try and talk to him, I try and see if I get any response,” Larry said.</p>
<p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“At the moment, nothing."</p>
<p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“I’m just hoping my dad pulls through and comes home.”</p>
<p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020"><span>Larry said he felt “anger and hatred, which I’ve never felt before,” after learning his elderly father had been hit, as the elderly man remains in a critical condition. </span></p>
<p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020"><em>Image credits: 7News</em></p>
