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Road rage shooting on 5 Freeway leaves SoCal father hospitalized

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Road rage shooting on 5 Freeway leaves SoCal father hospitalized

A father of four remains hospitalized in the ICU after being shot in a road rage shooting on the 5 Freeway.

The victim, Noel Pena, 48, was struck while driving on New Year’s Eve. The bullet entered through his armpit, shattered his collarbone and left fragments in his throat. 

“It’s something no one expects,” said Pamela Pena, the victim’s daughter. “Like, I’ve heard about it and I’m like, ‘Wow, people are so ruthless out there doing these types of things.’ It’s not normal, should not be normal, to find out it happened to us.”

On New Year’s Eve, Noel was heading home with his wife, daughter and niece after spending the day at the Sante Fe Springs Swap Meet. 

At around 3 p.m., the family was driving back home to East L.A. when they noticed what appeared to be a gray Honda SUV swerve into their lane just north of Carmenita Road in Norwalk. The suspect almost collided with their car.

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  • Noel Pena remains hospitalized in the ICU after a road rage shooting on the 5 Freeway on Dec. 31, 2023. (Pena Family)
  • Noel Pena remains hospitalized in the ICU after a road rage shooting on the 5 Freeway on Dec. 31, 2023. (Pena Family)
  • A bullet hole seen on the driver's side window. Noel Pena remains hospitalized in the ICU after a road rage shooting on the 5 Freeway on Dec. 31, 2023. (Pena Family)
  • Noel Pena remains hospitalized in the ICU after a road rage shooting on the 5 Freeway on Dec. 31, 2023. (Pena Family)
  • Noel Pena remains hospitalized in the ICU after a road rage shooting on the 5 Freeway on Dec. 31, 2023. (Pena Family)
  • The portion of the 5 Freeway where authorities are searching for dash cam video after a road rage shooting on Dec. 31, 2023. (California Highway Patrol)

Noel honked as the suspect driver yelled in his direction. Noel drove away but his family said the suspect continued following them in his car. 

Suddenly, the suspect passed him on the left-hand side and fired two gunshots toward the driver’s side window.

As Noel felt the bullet strike him, he pulled over to the side of the freeway. He began to feel faint and was losing blood quickly.

“My cousin sitting in the backseat said, ‘I never expected a human to do that to anyone here,’” Pamela said. “She came from Mexico to visit and it was the last thing she expected to happen.”

A nurse happened to be driving by at that moment and pulled over to offer help as Noel lay bleeding on the side of the freeway.

Pamela said the nurse helped control Noel’s bleeding as they waited for ambulances to arrive. She credits the nurse for saving her father’s life.

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“He had to get like eight units of blood, I think,” Pamela said. “I didn’t know how much that was until I researched it and that’s basically what one human body has — 8-10 units of blood. Like, how is it possible that he’s here with us today?”

California Highway Patrol said incidents of road rage appear to be happening more often. 

“It’s very important not to play into the issue at hand,” advises Alec Pereyda, a CHP officer. “If you feel that you’re part of a road rage incident, don’t instigate the situation, don’t make things worse, just continue on your way.”

Meanwhile, Noel remains hooked up to a breathing tube as he recovers from major surgery. His family is grateful he’s alive but said he faces an uphill battle on the road to recovery.

Noel is the father of four daughters who are hoping to see their dad come home very soon.

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“This could happen to anyone,” Pamela said. “It happened to my father who it should not have happened to. He’s such a good guy and he honestly doesn’t deserve this. Be cautious out there because we sadly live in a world where this will happen.”

A GoFundMe page was created to help Noel’s family with medical expenses.

The suspect driver remains at large. Authorities are searching for dash cam footage or video from a Tesla camera taken on Dec. 31 between 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. near the Carmenita Road exit.

Portion of the 5 Freeway where authorities are searching for dash cam video after a road rage shooting on Dec. 31, 2023. (California Highway Patrol)
The portion of the 5 Freeway where authorities are searching for dash cam video after a road rage shooting on Dec. 31, 2023. (California Highway Patrol)

Authorities are asking anyone who may have witnessed the shooting to call the CHP Santa Fe Springs office at 562-868-0503.

Los Angeles, Ca

Hospital needs help identifying man found unconscious in downtown Los Angeles

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Hospital needs help identifying man found unconscious in downtown Los Angeles

A hospital needs help identifying a male patient who was found injured and unconscious in downtown Los Angeles.

The man is believed to be in his 30s, according to the Los Angeles General Medical Center. 

He was found injured on the ground on Omar Street and has been hospitalized since June 22.

He stands 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 176 pounds. He has brown eyes, dark brown hair and tattoos across his upper body.

A male patient in his 30s was found injured in downtown Los Angeles on June 22, 2026. (Los Angeles General Medical Center)

He did not have any personal belongings to help staff identify him or contact loved ones. Workers did not disclose the nature of his injuries.

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Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call clinical social worker Cesar Robles at 323-409-6885.

The public can also call the L.A. General Medical Center’s Department of Social Work at 323-409-5253 or, after hours from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., call 323-409-6883. On weekends, call 323-409-5254.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Clue may identify SUV in Long Beach hit-and-run that left woman injured

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Clue may identify SUV in Long Beach hit-and-run that left woman injured

Police are asking the public for help Wednesday in identifying a hit-and-run driver who left a woman badly injured in Long Beach late last month. The May 24 crash occurred around 11 p.m. as the victim was crossing East 2nd Street, according to the Long Beach Police Department. Video provided by police showed a dark-colored […]

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Los Angeles, Ca

‘What’s going on with our society?’ Elderly L.A. street vendor violently beaten

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‘What’s going on with our society?’ Elderly L.A. street vendor violently beaten

WARNING: Video footage contains graphic violence

A 62-year-old street vendor is recovering after a brutally violent attack by another woman in broad daylight as bystanders in downtown Los Angeles looked on.

The attack happened around 4 p.m. on June 15 in the 700 block of Figueroa Street, where Arabelia Martinez has sold hot dogs for years to support herself and her family.

Video of the incident, which has since circulated widely online, appears to show a woman confronting Martinez at her stand before spraying sauce across the vendor’s cart. Martinez responds by throwing what appears to be Tajín seasoning in the woman’s direction, and the confrontation quickly escalates.

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A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia)

The difficult-to-watch footage shows Martinez being shoved to the ground and struck multiple times as people look on. Some can be seen attempting to intervene, but the assault continues for roughly a minute before coming to an end.

“I was speechless,” Martinez’s son, Constantino Garcia, said after watching the video. “I couldn’t even see the whole thing.”

According to Garcia, the suspect approached his mother before the attack and attempted to intimidate her into giving her money.

“The lady came up to my mom trying to intimidate her and extort her for money, telling her she needed a permit to sell, which my mom does have,” Garcia told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo.

When Martinez refused, Garcia claims the woman became verbally abusive.

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“After she didn’t get her way and tried to extort my mom, she said, ‘Go back to Mexico,’ and made some racist remarks,” he said. “She said some disgusting things to my mom.”

Garcia said his mother continues to suffer lingering effects from the attack.

“She keeps complaining about her head,” he said. “We need to go see a head specialist because her head doesn’t stop hurting. As you could see in the video, she got slammed to the ground.”

  • Elderly downtown L.A. street vendor brutally beaten in attack
  • Elderly downtown L.A. street vendor brutally beaten in attack
  • Elderly downtown L.A. street vendor brutally beaten in attack
  • Elderly downtown L.A. street vendor brutally beaten in attack
  • Elderly downtown L.A. street vendor brutally beaten in attack
  • Elderly downtown L.A. street vendor brutally beaten in attack
  • Elderly downtown L.A. street vendor brutally beaten in attack
  • Elderly downtown L.A. street vendor brutally beaten in attack
  • Elderly downtown L.A. street vendor brutally beaten in attack
  • Elderly downtown L.A. street vendor brutally beaten in attack
  • Elderly downtown L.A. street vendor brutally beaten in attack

The video has also sparked outrage over the response from some witnesses who were nearby during the assault.

“What’s going on with our society?” Garcia said. “Are we getting desensitized to an elderly woman being beaten in broad daylight and being surrounded by people doing the bare minimum to help her? That was horrible for me to watch.”

Witness Sebastian Gutierrez said he arrived moments after the confrontation and saw Garcia’s attacker causing additional chaos in the area.

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“The lady began to flip over the tables of vendors,” Gutierrez said, describing the woman as possibly unstable. “It definitely seemed like there were mental health issues or drugs involved, like we see with a lot of things here in downtown L.A.,” he said.

The Los Angeles Police Department has launched a battery investigation into the incident KTLA confirmed, though no suspect information or news of a potential arrest has been released.

Meanwhile, Martinez’s family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with her recovery and raise awareness about the dangers street vendors face daily.

“I hope that my mom gets justice for what happened to her,” Garcia said. He added that he’s been encouraged by the public response to the video.

“I’m grateful people are sympathizing with my mom,” he said. “People are giving it the attention it deserves.”

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