Dad of 3 severely beaten after road rage incident from 110 Freeway in South LA
LOS ANGELES - A family is pleading for justice and an arrest after a road rage incident left a father of three beaten and bloody.
The California Highway Patrol called the violent incident as a "road rage" encounter and pledged to continue investigations.
On January 25, Sandra Tocohua said she was in the car with her husband, Adrian Burgos Herrera, 33, when a road rage incident started with another car at the 110 Northbound Freeway and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the South Los Angeles area.
"Before we exited, he [the other driver] was already trying to hit us for no reason. We're not sure what exactly got him angry or what was his problem. As we were exiting, he got in front of us and then he was driving slow to get us pissed off but we kind of ignore it but then once we were exiting onto the exit, again he tried to hit us there and then he got in front of us again," said Tocohua.
Tocohua said Burgos got out of the car and the other driver got out of the car too. They were parked at the traffic light.
"The light was red, so my husband got out and told him what was his deal and to stop doing what he was doing because we were going to get hurt and when my husband got out [of the car], he got out too," said Tocohua.
Tocohua said the other driver had a golf club in his hand.
"Once I saw it [the golf club], all I could do was just take a picture of him, take a picture of his car and I just got back in my car," said Tocohua.
Tocohua said her husband told her to get in the car and drive away so she drove a few feet.
"At the time when I was doing all that movement, he [other driver] hit my husband in the face with the golf stick five times," said Tocohua.
Tocohua said after that, the other driver ran into Burgos, pinning him between two cars.
"He literally burned tires and he went right after him. Literally my husband was in the middle of both cars and somehow he flew to the sky and dropped on the ground and this guy just reversed," said Tocohua.
Tocohua called an ambulance and CHP was also called to investigate the case.
"My husband looked really, really bad and when I saw him, I got really, really scared. I just want justice," said Tocohua.
Burgos' sister, Hely Morales, then stepped in.
"I live in Colorado. I packed my stuff up and I packed up my car and I just started driving out here. It was about a 17-18 hour drive for me and I drove all the way out to California. I wasn't sure if my brother was going to make it or not," said Morales.
Morales decided to make a TikTok video, sharing the photo of the other driver and the driver's car to try to get him identified.
"I'm on TikTok here and there so I've seen them find people when people thought it was impossible so I just decided to gather all the information that I had and make a TikTok and reach out to multiple people to see if they'd be willing to reshare the video. When I made that video, we hadn't heard back from the police officer that was assigned to the case so we were starting to feel like if we didn't find this person, nobody was going to and I just wasn't going to give up on trying to find who it was and where this person was," said Morales.
A spokesperson for the CHP told FOX 11 they know who the suspect is, and are "close" to making contact with the driver. Until they make contact, the spokesperson said they are not officially releasing the name or photo of the suspect.
The family wants CHP to make an arrest soon, and are critical about the amount of time it has taken for an arrest.
"We got all the information. We gave it to the cop and the cop hasn't done anything yet so now we're afraid that he's [the other driver] running away and we won't be able to find him. We want for the cops to do their job and to go after him because they really have everything. I'm scared that he's going to run away and my husband is not going to get justice for that," said Tocohua.
Tocohua said her husband suffered several broken bones and facial injuries, and is critically injured. He has undergone several surgeries too. A GoFundMe page has been launched to help the family.
"I don't know that he's [Burgos] going to be OK to be honest with you. They may end up cutting his leg. My kids are really upset. We have three kids [ages 2, 8, and 15]. We're trying to figure out how we're going to do it because obviously we're not rich," Tocohua said.
"We don't have the money for that. We were not expecting this so if anyone can help, that would be great. He's in so much pain and there's only so much we can do for him right now. It's in the hands of God now. I just want justice for him," she adds.
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