Louis Mraz, the man accused of running down a Highland Park cyclist in his white convertible in late May, was previously arrested for a road rage incident in 1999.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Mraz was first sentenced to 45 days community service on a Caltrans crews for punching a 72-year-old man in the face following a traffic incident.
The full times article can be found here.
The article further states that Mraz, who was 51 years old at the time, was placed on three years summary probation and ordered to publicly apologize to the victim in the Mount Washington Newsletter by Judge Ramona G. See.
From The Times:
Deputy City Atty. Lara Drino Schwartz said Mraz and the victim were traveling in opposite directions on one-lane Crane Boulevard when the victim tried to pull his truck to the side of the road to let Mraz pass.
The victim said his vehicle stalled, and as he was trying to restart it, Mraz shouted at him to move, then got out of his car and walked up to the truck, Schwartz said.
He reached through the driver's side window, removed the victim's glasses and punched him in the nose, then threw the glasses back into the cab and drove off, Schwartz said.
As on Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch, Mraz was arrested on Wednesday, July 6 on charges of assault and hit and run. Mraz, who is the Mount Washington Homeowner Alliance’s Vice President of Land Use, was released on bail the same day.
He is accused of intentionally running down Highland Park resident Winona Wacker while she was riding her bike near Ave. 50 and Buchanan Street. According to one witness, Mraz yelled at Wacker from his convertible, demanding that she clear the road, and then sideswiped her, police said.
Mraz provided a different story to police, saying that he attempted to avoid Wacker, and unintentionally struck her with his side-view mirror. He also told officers that he did not see her fall to the ground.
