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Man, 56, accused of punching 17-year-old girl during ATV race suspended for year

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — A man from Ohio is accused of attacking a teenager from Catawba County during an ATV race north of Morganton has been suspended by the American Motorcyclist Association for one year.

Glenn McConnell is charged with assault on a female.

Eyewitnesses said the attack happened Saturday at a GNCC race at the Steele Creek campground. Madison Mace, 17, was wearing a GoPro camera during the race, which captured the assault.

(Click PLAY to watch GoPro video of the alleged incident)

The video showed the teenager revving her engine and calls out to pass the 56-year-old, but instead he hit the brakes, punched Mace in the face and broke her nose.

"I was shocked," Mace told Channel 9. "I didn't do anything to make him mad. I didn't do anything to him that I wouldn't have done to any other rider that I was trying to get around. So I would have never seen it coming."

Jim Clay, Mace's stepfather, said he doesn't want McConnell to go to jail but does believe he should be banned from racing.

"What scares me is the way this guy reacted right there in front of witnesses. What would have happened if they had been out there by themselves and that's why I want him off the track," Clay said.

Mace said she plans on returning to racing as early as Saturday, despite having a broke nose. She said 99 percent of the people there are like family.

"I'm definitely going to keep racing. As far as him being on the track, I wouldn't want that to happen to any other rider, so I hope he won't be back out there," Mace said.

The American Motorcyclist Association, which sanctioned the race, released the following statement to Channel 9:

“The American Motorcyclist Association confirms that a rider by the name of Glenn McConnell was a participant in the AMA-sanctioned Steele Creek Grand National Cross Country event in Morganton, N.C., on April 9. An altercation involving McConnell allegedly occurred. In light of an open investigation into this matter, we can make no further comment at this time.”

As part of McConnell's bond, he is not allowed to be around the 17-year-old, including the races. His attorney did not want to comment on the case.

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