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South LA road-rage attack caught on video
A woman says she was violently attacked during a road-rage incident in South LA. Samantha Baez-Vargas said a woman took a crowbar to her car, smashing its headlights, windshield and driver’s-side window.
LOS ANGELES - A South Los Angeles woman says she feared for her life after a road-rage confrontation turned violent, leaving her injured. Now, her family is demanding answers as detectives work to locate the suspect.
What we know:
Video of the attack shows a woman approaching Samantha Baez-Vargas’ car with a crowbar and smashing its headlights, windshield and driver’s-side window. When Baez-Vargas gets out of the vehicle, the woman allegedly attacks her with the crowbar and bites her multiple times.
The attack happened around 4 a.m. Saturday on 111th Street near Raymond Avenue in South Los Angeles.
Baez-Vargas says the confrontation began when the two cars could not get past each other on the narrow, one-way street. She says the other driver was going the wrong way and demanded that she back up.
"I didn’t know how to react. I was shocked. I didn’t know how to defend myself," Baez-Vargas said. "After the fact, I was in the hospital. I felt like I could have lost my life."
What they're saying:
Baez-Vargas said the woman continued the attack even after she thought the confrontation might stop.
"I thought she would stop and she didn’t," Baez-Vargas said. "She smacked me in the head with the crowbar at that point, and she snatched my phone out of my hand."
Her mother, Elizabeth Vargas, is urging authorities to take action and asking anyone with information to help investigators locate the suspect.
"Please do your job. This evil can’t be out there," Vargas said.
"Right now, it’s my daughter. So what’s going to happen next? Somebody else’s daughter?"
The attack video has been turned over to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Social media users have also circulated the alleged attacker’s identity.
What's next:
The sheriff’s department says detectives have identified the suspect and are working to find her.
"South Los Angeles Station detectives have been actively investigating this case and have positively identified the suspect. Detectives are currently working to locate and apprehend her," the department said in a statement.
Anyone with information about the suspect’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The Source: Information for this story came from an interview with Samantha Baez-Vargas and Elizabeth Vargas. A statement was provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.