‘The day the world went dark’: Dancer left blind after man smashed car window in Limerick

A LIMERICK-BASED street dancer has been left blinded by shards of glass after a man smashed his car window with a bat during a violent attack in broad daylight.

Tobi Omoteso, well-known for hip-hop and break dancing, choreography and teaching, faces “a long, agonising road of surgeries just to cling to a fraction of the vision I once took for granted”.

The performer said he has lost an eye which he can never get back but is reassured that with the people he has in his corner there “will be a way forward!”.

A Go Fund Me page has been set up for popular artist Mr Omoteso which has generated over €35,000 in two days to help towards current and future medical expenses.

READ NEXT: Mum in jail requests a judge to defer her child's First Holy Communion until release from prison

Gardai are investigating the shocking incident which took place on Saturday morning.

Following a query from Limerick Live, a garda spokesperson confirmed they received a report of an alleged incident of assault and criminal damage which occurred in the Old Cratloe Road area of Limerick city on Saturday, March 28 at approximately 10.30am.

 “A car has been reported as damaged. A male, aged in his 30s, suffered serious injuries during the incident. Investigations are ongoing,” said the garda spokesperson.

Mr Omoteso (pictured above) writes in the Go Fund Me appeal that March 28 is “the day the world went dark”. 

“It was the day I learned that the senseless violence you see in movies, the kind of nightmare you assume only happens to strangers, can hunt you down in your own neighbourhood.

“We were supposed to be celebrating. We had just finished packing the car, the seats heavy with gear and equipment for the fifth edition of our hip-hop and streetdance community festival in Limerick that I co-founded and had been working in across Ireland for over 12 years. 

“It was a day meant for music, DJ-ing, streetdance, movement, graffiti, art, unity and having fun for all regardless of race, religion, gender, age and ability. Instead, it became the end of life as I knew it,” he wrote.

Mr Omoteso said as he tried to leave his estate, a man sat waiting in a car at the exit. 

“He was parked carelessly, tyres on the footpath, trapping traffic and creating chaos in an already small space with road works. After a brief exchange of gesture, something snapped in him. He chose me.

“He tailed me through the streets of Limerick, chasing me toward a well-known roundabout where he finally forced his way in front of me, swerving to cut off any hope of escape. I watched, paralysed, as he stepped out of his vehicle wielding a wooden bat,” he claimed.

Mr Omoteso said the man began to beat his car with a bat. 

“Then he struck and shattered the driver’s side window with the wooden bat which exploded shards of glass, like tiny knives, sprayed across my face and buried themselves deep into both of my eyes," he claims.

The street dancer said he is now facing a long, agonising road of surgeries just to cling to a fraction of the vision he once took for granted. 

“The damage is not just physical, it is permanent. My iris was sliced in half and had to be meticulously stitched back together. I am battling an onset cataract and a ruptured lens capsule, both of which must be surgically removed.

“I am currently facing the first of four major emergency operations. Even if every single procedure is a success, I will never see the world clearly again, which ultimately affects my job, work, dance, social interaction and confidence.”