Woman Hurt, Man Jailed in Jogging Fracas

A dispute over the proper direction to run around an oval track turned physical as two joggers in an upscale neighborhood clashed over running etiquette, leaving a woman with a bruised nose and landing a man in jail.

Robert B. Lange, 44, of Newport Beach was arrested and booked on suspicion of felony battery with bodily injury for allegedly striking the 19-year-old woman, also of Newport Beach, Sgt. Andy Gonis said Friday.

The alleged victim, whom police declined to identify, told authorities that both she and Lange were running in the same direction on the track at Lincoln Elementary School about 8 p.m. Thursday, according to Gonis. She said the two were not acquainted, Gonis said.

The woman decided to change direction. When she passed Lange, he told her that she was running in the wrong direction and that she should turn around, the alleged victim told police.

The next time they passed, the woman, who had decided not to change direction, ignored Lange and kept her head down, she told police.

“After he said in a stern way that she was going in the wrong direction, she was upset by the comment and kept her head down to avoid him,” Gonis said. “She didn’t specify what was going on in her own mind at that point.”

According to the woman, Lange then bumped into her shoulder and knocked her to the ground, Gonis said.

At first she fled into the the grassy area in the middle of the track, but Lange then allegedly yelled a sexual insult and the woman moved back toward him, Gonis said.

She planned to respond sharply to the insult, Gonis said. She told police that when she tapped Lange’s shoulder to stop him, he allegedly turned and punched her in the face, leaving her with a half-inch cut on the bridge of her nose, authorities said.

A witness then restrained Lange while the woman called police, Gonis said. Lange was taken to the Newport Beach city jail, where he posted $10,000 bail Thursday night and was released.

The woman was treated at the scene and declined a ride to a hospital.

Both runners live near the school at 3101 Pacific View Drive, police said.

Eric Tweit, a track coach for Newport Harbor High School, said runners are encouraged to run in the same direction to avoid collisions, but “it’s not a big deal.”

“I have never seen an incident like this before,” Tweit said. “It would seem like there’s a part missing to this or this guy is just too intense. You would have thought she had called him a name or something.”