Vicious road rage incident caught on tape
Man seriously hurt after argument on California highway takes violent turn
California authorities are urging the public for help in identifying the men responsible for the the brutal beating of a motorist along a Los Angeles freeway, as well as locating the victim and bystander who taped the fight and posted it online.
The beating, which was filmed by an unknown witness, occurred around 3:30 p.m. June 12 along the I-5 Freeway on the northbound side of Interstate 5 approaching 7th Street, near downtown Los Angeles, the California Highway Patrol said at a news conference Wednesday.
Authorities were unaware of the beating until it went viral, with more than 100,000 views online as of Wednesday morning.
The graphic two-minute video, reportedly shot on a smartphone camera and uploaded to YouTube, shows a man arguing with three other men standing outside of their cars. The beating victim is seen throwing the first punch and kick at one of the suspects.
The fight then turns into a two-against-one brawl when two of the men begin punching and kicking the man before wrestling him to the ground.
After kicking the victim repeatedly in the head as he lay motionless on the freeway, the two men rush into their VW Jetta with a third man and speed off. The camera shows the California license plate of the Jetta to be 3UGW962.
Authorities are asking for the public's assistance in locating the victim and suspects involved. The only clue they have so far is the video; officers investigating the beating were unaware of any call log or report about the incident, according to KTTV.
"We are in the early stages of this investigation," said a CHP official, who urged anyone with information to call the CHP central Los Angeles office.
A man claiming to be the victim reportedly spoke to KABC-TV, saying the three men were taunting him on the freeway before they got out of their vehicle and approached him. The man, who did not give his name, told the station that he suffered a concussion and has little recollection of what happened.
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