A man is being treated at Lansing's Sparrow Hospital for head injuries after he was assaulted while breaking up a fight outside Beggar's Banquet early Thursday, East Lansing police said.

As the man intervened in the scuffle, he was pushed or shoved, causing him to fall backward and strike the back of his head against the pavement.

East Lansing police Capt. Juli Liebler said officers responded to the fight at 218 Abbott Road at 1:55 a.m.

The victim, whose name, age and condition have not been released, was rushed to the hospital.

By the time police reached the scene, two men suspected in the assault already had fled. Police did not have a description of the assailants, and it was unclear what inspired the fight.

"We've had other people with long-term injuries or people die from fights like that," Liebler said. "Probably once a week we have a fight after bars close, but any time there is a serious head injury, which it appears that there was, it is obviously a concern to us."

Police take cases of this nature seriously, because "one punch could change your life," Liebler said.

On Oct. 1, 2000, 24-year-old Brandon D'Annunzio was beaten to death after a confrontation outside the Riviera Cafe Restaurant & Lounge, 231 M.A.C. Ave.

It is believed that he was punched to the sidewalk, causing his head to hit the pavement.

Police have not made any arrests in connection with D'Annunzio's murder.

Liebler explained that, "When there's a fight, police show up, and there is such a commotion that, after police sort it out, the people that committed the crime are long gone, and people didn't know who they were to begin with."

Earlier this fall, an MSU student received a closed head injury during a fight that broke out during a party on Gunson Street.

Anyone with information on assaults in East Lansing is asked to call police at (517) 337-2599.