Mt. Washington Motorist Guilty in Cyclist Road Rage Incident

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury on Monday convicted Mount Washington resident Louis Mraz on one count of assault with a deadly weapon for sideswiping a bicyclist near the corner of Avenue 50 and Buchanan Street in May 2011.

The jury also acquitted Mraz of one count of hit and run.

Winona Wacker, the cyclist who was injured in the Mraz incident, said she still felt overwhelmed by the proceedings of the trial.

"I'm still letting it all settle in," Wacker said.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Mraz was driving behind Wacker on Avenue 50 "in his 2001 Volvo convertible with his top down and began honking his horn and yelling for Wacker to move out of his way."

According to the report, Mraz then "drove violently into the left side of Wacker’s bike, causing her to fall and tumble to the pavement. Mraz then left the area, leaving Wacker with numerous cuts and abrasions."

Mraz was remanded into custody by the Los Angeles Superior Court. His sentencing is scheduled for March 26.

According to the California Penal Code, "any person who commits an assault upon the person of another with a deadly weapon or instrument other than a firearm or by any means of force likely to produce great bodily injury shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment."

Mraz, who is on the board of directors of the Mount Washington Homeowners Alliance, 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 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.

The full Times article can be viewed here.