Suspect Tells Police He Tried to Stop Fatal Dash Into Traffic.

A 14-year-old boy charged in the death of a doctoral student at Columbia told the police that he tried to stop the student from dashing into traffic after attacking him, a detective said at the boy's arraignment on Thursday. The boy, whose name is not being released because of his age, was formally charged as a juvenile on Thursday in Family Court in Manhattan with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Minghui Yu, 24, a student from China pursuing his doctorate in statistics. According to the police, the boy repeatedly punched Mr. Yu on a median on Broadway at 122nd Street around 9 p.m. on Friday. Mr. Yu tried to escape by running into the southbound lane of Broadway, the police said, where he was fatally struck by a Jeep Cherokee. The driver was not charged. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]