Video shows bicyclists forcing driver out of car during confrontation in Koreatown
Video of a confrontation between a motorist and bicyclists in Koreatown on Thursday night shows the cyclists pulling the driver out of his car and pinning him to the ground until police arrive.
LAPD Officer Drake Madison said that witnesses reported the driver had clipped one of the bicyclists as he tried to slowly move his car through the intersection.
The incident took place about 10:30 p.m. at 6th Street and Hobart Boulevard, a busy area of Koreatown at that time of night.
It started when the 50 or so bicyclists rode through the intersection on a green light, but then the light turned red, Madison said.
Instead of the pack separating, one bicyclist stopped in the intersection and blocked opposing traffic, which then had a green light, as the cyclists continued to pedal through the intersection, Madison said.
That’s when one driver tried to go through the intersection despite the bicyclists, Madison said.
The driver and a bicyclist got into a “shouting match,” which escalated when the bicyclist grabbed the driver, witness Brandon Pak told KCBS-TV. The driver hit the accelerator and ran over a cyclist’s leg, then tried to get away, Pak said, but the group swarmed him and pulled him out.
The group held the driver until police arrived. Officers took a report of a traffic collision and battery but made no arrests, Madison said.
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