It wasn't traffic firefighters South Los Angeles had to deal with while responding to a call. It was a man.
The crew from Station 16 was headed to a crash when a man started attacking the rig.
“We were literally responding to a traffic collision and this guy just came out of nowhere, jumped in front of the engine and just started punching it,” Firefighter/Paramedic Andrew Chaing told an NBC4 reporter.
The bizarre encounter happened on June 7 near the intersection of Central Avenue and Nadeau Street, roughly half a mile from the fire station. Video showed the man punching the windows of the truck before he turned on the firefighters.
“Once he started reaching in and assaulting my driver, I immediately jumped out, checked him, and got him off and we were able to push him back a bit,” Chaing said.
Eventually, Chaing called for backup and deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded. The assailant was taken into custody a short time later.
This wasn’t firefighters' first encounter with the assailant. They saw the man a month or two ago and said he was under the influence of narcotics.
