Good Samaritan skateboarders help stop East Hollywood carjacking in progress

Cellphone video captured what appeared to be an attempted carjacking stopped by several good Samaritans late last month in East Hollywood.

The incident unfolded near the intersection of Beverly Boulevard and Vermont Avenue.  

Footage of the incident shows the terrified driver of a Tesla screaming and trying to push another man, who was clinging to the driver’s steering wheel, out of the vehicle.  

Cesar Clara and Adam Hakeem came across the intense struggle as they were on their way to a nearby skatepark around 1 p.m. in the afternoon.  

“We pulled up right next to them and we see that some guy needed some help because it looked like someone was stealing the car,” Clara explained to KTLA’s Mary Beth McDade. 

Behind the wheel of his own car, Clara watched as Hakeem jumped out of their vehicle and ran to the Tesla driver’s rescue.  

“So, the Black pedestrian has his arm around the wheel and he’s not letting go, while the other person in the car, he’s Asian, and he doesn’t know what to do,” Hakeem said. “He wasn’t saying much, except for, like, being in shock. He was like, ‘Just get him out.’” 

He said he tried to grab the suspect and get him to release the wheel and get away from the car, but that didn’t work.  

“So, I try to take his attention off of the steering wheel, so I proceeded to kicking his leg, hoping he’ll let go in agony,” Hakeem added.  

Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department arrived at the scene within minutes and took control of the situation and the suspect, who some believe may be homeless or suffering from mental illness.  

The man was reportedly arrested for grand theft auto.  

As for Hakeem, he said that acting in the spur of the moment and helping the man out felt like the right thing to do.