Belligerent Pedestrian Shuts Down Traffic in Echo Park

A busy freeway transition road in Echo Park was temporarily shut down Sunday morning when a distraught man jumped from a moving car and then battled paramedics and California Highway Patrol officers who tried to restrain and then transport the bruised and bloodied victim to a hospital for treatment of his injuries.

The incident on the transition road between the northbound Pasadena (110) Freeway and the northbound Hollywood (101) Freeway was reported at 2:15 a.m, CHP Officer Anthony Martin said.

The transition road was shut down and a SigAlert declared by the CHP at 2:34 a.m., Martin said.

RMG News photographer Sam Dubin, who was en route to a story, told City News Service he had to swerve to avoid a car that had also swerved to avoid hitting the man who jumped out of the car.

"Everyone was getting out of their cars. He was motionless on the ground. We were just trying to give him aid," Dubin said.

"He weighed about 300 pounds, he was a big guy and bloodied," Dubin said.

When the first CHP officers came the man suddenly became belligerent, Dubin said. He was so large, officers had to string handcuffs together to restrain him.

"He was cussing all over the place," Dubin said. He was transported to County USC with CHP officers in the ambulance, and Dubin said he saw the ambulance pull over along the way so more officers could talk to him because he was so combative.

Dubin said he talked to a woman who said she was the man's wife. She told Dubin she was pregnant and said she had told her husband she was leaving him just before he leaped from the car, which was moving at 50 miles per hour.

The road was finally cleared and the SigAlert cancelled at 3:07 a.m., Martin said.