69-year-old truck driver got into a fight with former USC quarterback Mark Sanchez He was released from the hospital over the weekend and is continuing to recover at home, his lawyers said.
Indiana resident Perry Toal suffered a cut to his left cheek during the incident, which occurred late Friday night and early Saturday morning in an alley near a downtown Indianapolis hotel.
“He's been released from the hospital, he's recovering and he's hopeful that he'll regain function – you know, his ability to speak,” said Eric J. May, one of the attorneys representing Tole in the civil suit against Sanchez. TMZ on Monday.
“He is now having a very difficult time communicating due to a large wound on his face. It has affected his jaw, tongue and mouth.”
May added that Tole “can speak right now, but it's so slurred and difficult for him, just because of all the injuries to his mouth and cheek.”
Attorney Edward R. Reichert told TMZ that Tole will not be able to attend his son's wedding this weekend because of what he has been through. May said he expected “further medical treatment and ongoing treatment in the future” and added that “psychological trauma” was also a concern.
“I think it's too early to say what his long-term prognosis will be, but we're hopeful,” May said. “He's not home right now, he's back with his wife and I think they're just glad they're alive.”
Sanchez was pepper sprayed in the face and hit several times Tole during the fight, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Saturday by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
As of Monday morning, Sanchez remained in the hospital in stable condition. Later that day, his brother released a statement on behalf of the Sanchez family.
“It was a very troubling time for everyone involved,” Nick Sanchez said. “Mark and our family are incredibly grateful for the care, love and support we have received over the past few days. Mark remains under medical care for the serious injuries he sustained and is focused on his recovery while the legal process continues.”
Sanchez is charged with a Level 5 felony of causing great bodily injury, as well as three misdemeanors of battery resulting in bodily injury, unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication.
Marion County, Indiana, prosecutor Ryan Mears said Monday that more charges are possible as the investigation continues.
Sanchez was in Indianapolis to call Sunday's Raiders-Colts game for Fox Sports. Fellow Fox analyst Brady Quinn replaced Sanchez on the broadcast.
According to the affidavit, based on surveillance video from the hotel and a statement Tole gave to police, Sanchez apparently objected to Tole driving his truck into the hotel loading dock while doing his job for a company that processes and disposes of commercial cooking oil.
The affidavit says Sanchez smelled of alcohol during the confrontation.
Tole's civil lawsuit, filed Monday in Marion County Superior Court, alleges that as a result of Sanchez's actions, he suffered “serious permanent disfigurement, loss of function, other physical injuries, emotional distress and other damages.”
Sanchez's employer, Fox Corp., is named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit, in which Tole seeks compensatory and punitive damages to be determined at trial.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
