Crash victim is shot seeking help

An alleged drunk driver flipped his car while driving the wrong way on the Harbor Freeway early Sunday morning in South Los Angeles, then was shot after throwing a punch at someone in another car, police said.

The 26-year-old Gardena man, whose name was not released, told investigators that he was driving south on the freeway’s elevated northbound lanes shortly after midnight when he crashed his 1990 Nissan, said LAPD Officer Karen Smith. He then walked off the freeway ramp and flagged down a car, Smith said.

When the three occupants of the car refused to help him, he tried to punch one of them and was shot twice in the shoulder. The wounded man was hospitalized in stable condition and arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. He could face other charges, Smith said.

Smith said no arrest was made in the shooting because the assailant had left by the time officers reached the scene, and the wounded man told investigators what had happened.

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-- Hector Becerra