Man shot in road-rage incident

A man was taken to USC County Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries after being shot during an apparent road-rage incident Monday afternoon in Burbank.

The victim is in stable condition after being shot in the torso, officials said. The shooter, a man with light skin driving a dark-colored van, is still at large.

The incident began with an altercation between two drivers on the northbound 5 Freeway near the Western Avenue exit about 4:30 p.m., Burbank Police Lt. John Dilibert said.

The drivers exited the freeway at Alameda Avenue, stopped and got out of their cars near Ash Avenue and Varney Street, where they continued to argue.

The driver of the van pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots at the victim, who was driving a Mercedes sedan, Dilibert said. Bullets hit the victim once and his car several times, cracking the windshield and rear window.

The victim then got back into his Mercedes and drove several blocks to Lake Street and Providencia Avenue, where he flagged down a passing motorist to ask for help. The driver of the van fled.

Surrounding streets were closed for several hours while investigators canvassed the area. There was no indication that the two motorists knew each other, officials said.

“They came across each other’s fenders in the middle of the freeway, as far as we know,” Dilibert said.

Officials said they are hoping a witness will come forward and provide information leading them to the shooter.

Violent road-rage incidents are extremely rare, Dilibert said.

“In the last year we may have had a couple [minor incidents], but not like this,” Dilibert said. “I can’t think of one we have had on the freeways in L.A. County in a long time.”