A 14-YEAR-OLD boy was charged with manslaughter Monday in the death of a Columbia University graduate student from China who was punched and chased into traffic, hit by a car and killed, U.S. police said.

Police originally suspected Yu Minghui, 24, was the victim of a robbery Friday night as he walked home from his girlfriend’s apartment. But two other boys who were with the suspect at the time later told investigators it was a crime of impulse, police said Monday.

“Watch what I do to this guy,” the attacker said before pouncing on Yu, according to the other boys.

Authorities allege Yu’s assailant grabbed and struck him several times on a street median. When Yu broke free and ran across a southbound lane, he was struck by a sport utility vehicle. Yu was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Yu was a Ph.D. candidate in statistics and a statistics teaching fellow. A native of China and a graduate of the University of Science and Technology of China, Yu was director of public relations for the Columbia University Chinese Students and Scholars Association.

The Columbia University is currently working to bring Yu’s parents to the United States as soon as possible by expediting the process of obtaining visas. Yu Minghui was their only child.(SD-Agencies)