Philanthropist Who Survived Shopping Cart Attack Returns to New York City

Marion Hedges, a philanthropist who was critically injured 15 years ago when a shopping cart was hurled onto her head from a four-story walkway, is returning to New York City. The attack left her with permanent brain damage, two broken ribs, and a broken collarbone. She lost her pulse at the scene and was revived with CPR.

Hedges spent four days in a medically induced coma and three years in cognitive therapy following the incident on Oct. 30, 2011. She had been on a last-minute trip to an East Harlem mall to buy candy for children attending her annual Halloween block party when the unprovoked attack occurred. The shopping cart was thrown by two teenagers.

After living in Connecticut and the Hamptons, Hedges, 62, is moving back to her old neighborhood. She intends to focus on improving the lives of at-risk youth, including those who were responsible for her injuries. "I’m very aware of my limitations — but I don’t believe in the word ‘victim,'" Hedges told The Post. "I refuse to be afraid of home. I have a cane and believe me, I’m ready to use it if I have to."

She plans to volunteer this Halloween at a children's party in the South Bronx. "Halloween is a fun time – it’s not a time to stay home and hide. I try not to look at it with sadness," said Hedges, who can no longer drive, shed a tear, or read a book due to her compromised vision and attention span. "I don’t think about what I don’t have – I try not to live a nightmare."

The two boys responsible for the attack, Raymond Hernandez, then 12, and Jeovanni Rosario, then 13, pleaded guilty to assault and received lenient sentences. Hernandez was later arrested in connection with a series of burglaries in 2015. An uncle of Rosario's told The Post in 2021 that Rosario had been in programs and was then working and doing well. Hedges expressed hope that their futures are not defined by that single incident, stating, "It was a bad day for all of us. It damaged their lives and my life forever."

A third boy, Achilles Baskin, who tried to prevent the attack, was hailed as a hero at the time but was later fatally shot in 2023 in what appeared to be unrelated drug violence.

Hedges serves on the board of Scan-Harbor, a nonprofit organization in the Bronx and East Harlem, aiming to help disadvantaged youth. Her husband, Michael, supports her decision to return, though he expressed some fear for her safety. Hedges, however, stated, "Nothing bad is going to happen to me — it’s already happened to me. I don’t want to be afraid of my own city – I don’t want to live in a bubble."

She no longer wishes to be known as "the shopping cart lady" but instead as "the shopping cart survivor – making a difference in New York."