Two cars involved in an accident are blocking the southbound lane on Valencia Street between 21st and 22nd streets, near Hill Street.
The two cars collided near Valencia and 23nd streets around 6:10 p.m., according to a witness, Jonathan McIntosh, who then saw a red car attempt to drive away from the scene of the accident.
But when the driver of the red car pulled away, he crossed the opposite lane of traffic and collided with a parked motor scooter. The driver of the other car, a gray vehicle, followed the red car northbound on Valencia Street and forced the driver to exit his vehicle. Another bystander joined in to remove the man from his vehicle.
The driver of the red vehicle attempted to fight his way free. Witness Leslie Laughlin said the driver of the gray vehicle punched the other driver several times in the face.
“He was so wasted and wasn’t cooperating,” Laughlin said of the driver of the red car.
Witnesses noted that the driver appeared intoxicated and belligerent, and kept attempting to get back into his car and drive away.
The driver of the gray car and a motorcyclist took the other driver’s keys and held him down until police arrived, about five minutes later.
Laughlin, a social worker, stepped in to help the passengers in the gray car, a pregnant woman and a one-year-old boy.
Police handcuffed the driver of the red car, and he was wearing a neck brace when he was put into an ambulance.
Southbound traffic on Valencia may remain slow due to the wreckage of the accident.
Correction: We previously mislabeled the motor scooter as a motorcycle.
I watched this whole thing and what the article doesn’t really say is that the guy in the grey car got out of his car, went to the stopped red car and starting beating the crap out of the driver through the window. They didn’t really pull him out until the police arrived. Rather, they punched him many times while he was captive in the car. He tried to escape this by backing out and that’s when he (again) hit the grey car very near to where the baby was sitting. It was all pretty crazy. but I’m not sure the driver of the grey car should not have been arrested himself for assault.
I’m glad no one got hurt. But here is how his legal team will defend him: “The old ford mustang’s gears jammed and wouldn’t stop, it kept going. He kept trying to go back to the car because he was afraid it would start up again and harm pedestrians. He gave the keys to the good Samaritans
after he managed to turn the car off. My client was glad for the help from bystanders.
Also, if he refused a sobriety test (because they are arresting him anyway) it is really hard to prove he was DUI. As for assault, I don’t know how his legal defense can help him, there were too many whitenesses.
If you are going to drink, don’t drive on Valencia, too many couples with baby carriages.
If he refused a voluntary sobriety test, they’ll strap him in the chair and do a blood test.
BTW, blood tests are even more reliable in court. The guy’s screwed.
It will take at least an hour to get him in the chair for the blood test, by then he will probably be below .08 AL.
If they throw the switch while he’s strapped in the chair, everybody wins.