Boy Thrown From Truck on Freeway; Father Held
A Los Angeles man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and driving under the influence of alcohol after his 4-year-old son was hurtled from the window of his moving pickup truck on the Simi Valley Freeway, police said Tuesday.
Detective Mike Houchen said it had not been determined whether the child was deliberately thrown from the vehicle. Brian Wheeler, 27, was held without bail at the Van Nuys jail, police said.
The boy, Christopher Wheeler, suffered a broken collarbone and was in good condition at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.
Witnesses told police the eastbound truck stopped about 5:30 p.m. Monday and the boy’s mother, Susan Wheeler, 29, got out to retrieve him. The truck then sped off but crashed into a fence at the bottom of the Glenoaks Boulevard off-ramp, Houchen said. Wheeler was subsequently arrested when officers arrived.
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