LA couple says driver jumped the curb and chased them while they walked their dog
Driver accused of chasing couple and their dog
A couple walking their dog said a driver aimed his car at them.
LOS ANGELES - A couple walking their dog in the Mid-Wilshire area says a driver aimed his car at them and chased them across the grass at Harold A. Henry Park after they waved him through a stop sign. The driver got away and has not been caught. The couple is asking anyone who recognizes his orange hatchback with Colorado plates to call police.
What we know:
Ben and Celine were walking their dachshund, Olive, home on Wednesday, Aug. 12 when they reached the stop sign at the intersection of W. 9th Street and S. Lucerne Boulevard. An orange hatchback was already sitting there. The couple was on the phone, so they waved the driver through.
Instead of driving on, the man rolled his window down and asked, with an expletive, if they spoke English. He then turned his wheels and drove at them, coming up over the curb.
Video from an Uber driver shows the car aimed directly at the couple and their dog. The trees at the edge of the park may have stopped the driver from coming any further.
Ben and Celine say the driver came back through the park and slowed down long enough to ask if they were scared now, before heading south toward Olympic Blvd.
The suspect's vehicle is a 2019 Mitsubishi Mirage with Colorado license plate EWUW29. The couple has filed a report with the Los Angeles Police Department and sent officers all of the footage.
What they're saying:
"Almost immediately he just turned his wheels, accelerated and drove right at us, came up over the curb," Ben said.
"I didn't think he was gonna drive onto the sidewalk and then onto the grass of the park," Celine said.
"The scary thing was how fast it happened. It was going on and over in a matter of seconds," Ben said.
Asked how fearful they were for their lives, Celine said: "I mean, I couldn't sleep at all that night. I was just still processing, like, wow, like we could have been seriously hurt."
The couple hopes someone watching recognizes the car.
"It has a bunch of bumper stickers on the back and it's a Colorado license plate. So it looks really out of place in Los Angeles," Celine said.
Asked whether she felt this was a sign of the times, Celine said: "I think there is just a lot of aggression coming from certain individuals and people need to be held accountable for their actions."
Dig deeper:
The footage of the incident is going viral, and online sleuths found a similar car involved in an incident with two women in Tucson, Arizona, back in April.
FOX 11 looked into that case. A 49-year-old man was charged with disorderly conduct for that road rage incident. He did not show up for his arraignment, so there is now a warrant for his arrest and an order for him to lose his license.
It has not been confirmed that the driver in the Tucson case and the driver in Mid-Wilshire are the same person.
What's next:
Whether the driver is from the area is one of the questions the couple hopes the LAPD can track down. They also hope investigators can determine whether the man who came at them is the same driver from the Tucson case.
If you see the orange hatchback, do not follow it and do not confront the driver. Instead, call 911 immediately.
The Source: This report is based directly on victim statements, security and bystander video footage, and official incident reports filed with the Los Angeles Police Department. Additional background regarding the Tucson, Arizona road rage case originates from public court records and local law enforcement warrant filings.