No charges in University of Idaho fight that left delivery driver in coma

No one will face criminal charges after a fight involving a University of Idaho fraternity member last fall left a food delivery driver in a coma.

The DoorDash driver, 27-year-old Austen Dawson, of Moscow, was the primary aggressor and threw the first punch at 21-year-old UI student Arath Chavez on Sept. 24, according to a Thursday news release from the Moscow Police Department and Latah County Prosecutor’s Office.

But Dawson disputes those parts of the investigation.

Dawson said he and Chavez were arguing, both wanted to fight, and no one tried to de-escalate the situation. He said Chavez threw the first punch.

Dawson said he was in a medically induced coma for six days and remained in the hospital’s intensive care unit for another week. He said he could have stayed in the hospital longer.

“I was super dizzy, but God, I wanted to go home super bad,” he said.

Dawson said he had a brain bleed that turned into a blood clot, which has since cleared. He sustained a broken nose that damaged a nerve, taking away his sense of smell and taste.

He’s grateful to be alive and mostly recovered, except for post-traumatic stress, headaches and fatigue, he said.

“It could have been a thousand times worse,” Dawson said.

The Thursday news release said Chavez, a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, was playing basketball with three friends at the fraternity the night of Sept. 24, when one of the friends missed a shot and the ball bounced into the road, hitting the vehicle Dawson was driving.

Dawson got out and spoke to Chavez. Chavez reported Dawson asked whether the ball caused damage to the car, to which Chavez replied, “No.” Dawson asked about damage multiple times, the release said, but police later reported no damage to the vehicle.

A witness reported Dawson continuously challenged Chavez to a fight. He then delivered a DoorDash order to a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority across the street from the fraternity.

During the delivery, Dawson told a sorority member that a basketball from the fraternity dented his car and advised her he was going to fight the guy for it, according to police. Dawson left the sorority, walked down the road and yelled at Chavez. The sorority member heard Dawson state, “Let’s fight,” and Chavez stated he did not want to fight.

Dawson told The Spokesman-Review Chavez was the one who continued to argue with him.

He said Chavez told him to “come down here,” but Dawson said he told Chavez that Chavez and his friends outnumbered him, so he did not want to fight.

Dawson said Chavez walked out into the middle of the street and put his hands up. He met him in the street, and Chavez continued to challenge him to a fight, according to Dawson. Dawson said he told Chavez he did not want to fight and be charged with a crime.

Audio and video of some of the interaction and fight were recorded.

A witness reported Dawson provoked Chavez, telling him multiple times to swing.

The same witness attempted to de-escalate the situation and asked Dawson to leave. Chavez told Dawson multiple times he did not want to fight, the witness said. Two other witnesses reported Chavez was clearly trying to leave it alone and Dawson kept verbally attacking Chavez, insisting they fight.

Chavez eventually said he would fight Dawson, and the two walked to the middle of the street. Three witnesses reported Chavez and Dawson agreed to fight, but Dawson was the “primary aggressor.” Multiple witnesses reported the two men shook hands in the street and began fighting.

On video, Dawson was heard stating, “I’ll take my shoes off right now and we can shake hands and we can scrap right now.” A witness reported Chavez took off his sandals and stuck out his hand as if to shake Dawson’s.

Dawson said Chavez was the one who said he would take his shoes off and fight. Dawson told The Spokesman-Review he would never take his shoes off on asphalt to fight. He said he put his hand out to shake Chavez’s and Chavez threw the first punch.

Several witnesses reported Dawson swung first, the release said.

Both parties exchanged blows. Chavez wrapped his arms around Dawson and took Dawson to the ground, where Dawson’s head hit the pavement. On the ground, Chavez was seen hitting Dawson at least four times. Dawson is 6 feet tall and Chavez is 5 feet, 5 inches. They both weigh the same.

Dawson had a seizure, the release said. Witnesses administered first aid and called 911. The fight lasted 15 to 20 seconds.

Dawson said he probably connected once or twice on his punches, and Chavez connected four times, plus the multiple times when he was on the ground unconscious.

Moscow police consulted with medical professionals who said the major injuries Dawson sustained were likely from Dawson’s head hitting the ground, and the subsequent punches to Dawson’s head after he was on the ground likely did not result in major injuries. Officials determined Dawson and Chavez “engaged in mutual combat.” Therefore, police and prosecutors determined they could not charge Chavez with aggravated battery under Idaho law.

Dawson said Chavez should have been charged. He said ultimately it was a “mutual fight that ended bad.”

He said he did not think Chavez’s intention was to put him in a coma.

“It was an unfortunate thing that my head hit the curb,” Dawson said.

He said he plans to pursue the matter against Chavez civilly, in part because of the more than $1 million in medical bills he has incurred.

Dawson was taken to Gritman Medical Center in Moscow before he was airlifted to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston. He said he “flatlined” in the ambulance for two minutes.

Moscow police Chief Anthony Dahlinger said at the time that Chavez had minor injuries from the fight.

Chavez was removed from his membership with Phi Delta Theta, saying it “does not support or condone violence,” according to social media posts by the UI fraternity chapter.

Chavez and Dawson have received harassment online since the fight, police said.

Since Thursday’s announcement of no charges, Dawson said he’s seen comments on Facebook about how he got what he asked for and that he should not have started the fight.

Dawson said he plans to return to his delivery job on Monday, the first time since the fight.