Man Charged With Assault in Road Rage Case

A Van Nuys man has been charged with assault after he allegedly punched out a car window and attacked a woman in a vehicle that cut him off in traffic, an incident witnessed by a deputy police chief, the city attorney said Wednesday.

Pedro Hernandez Rios, 26, was a passenger in a car traveling on Beverly Boulevard near Rossmore Avenue on March 7 when the car in which he was riding passed another and blocked its path, according to the Deputy City Atty. Jerry Baik.

Rios got out of the car, smashed a window on the other car with his fist and punched a 37-year-old Koreatown woman who was a passenger in the second car, Baik said.

Deputy Police Chief Charles Dinse, of West Bureau Operations, who had stopped his car at the intersection of Beverly and Rossmore, reportedly saw the incident. He detained Rios until other officers arrived and arrested him, city attorney spokesman Mike Qualls, said.

Rios is charged with assault with a deadly weapon, battery and vandalism. The woman he allegedly hit was treated for cuts on the left side of her face, Qualls said.

“In the past few years, we have seen a steady flow of road rage cases coming in,” Qualls said. “We’ve recently started seeing cases of parking lot rage, too.”

Rios is scheduled for an April 13 arraignment in Los Angeles Superior Court.