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Driver Goes On Bizarre Auto Rampage in Palos Verdes
Caution tape photo by Scott Rothstein via Shutterstock
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A bizarre rampage in the South Bay ended with the arrest of a 65-year old driver on Thursday evening.
William Thomas Kelly of Torrance was found passed out in his black Audi in Rancho Palos Verdes after hitting multiple cars and running down a bicyclist. He was booked for suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Deputies told The Daily Breeze they smelled alcohol on his breath and was unconscious when they arrested him at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Kelly's apparent rampage began when he collided with a woman's car on the corner of Via Alvarado and Via Sola. "He collided with her and then, after the collision, he again collided with her," Palos Verdes Estates police Sgt. Luke Hellinga told The Daily Breeze. "He backed up and hit her again."
Kelly then sideswiped a vehicle on Paseo del Mar and clipped a bicyclist on Via Pacheco. From the Daily Breeze:
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Bicyclist Doug Castile said his pedal was hit by the vehicle and he yelled at the motorist. The vehicle then backed up behind Castile, moved forward and pushed him and his bike into plants on the side of the road. Kelly then allegedly drove back and forth over the bicycle after Castile unclipped his shoes from the pedals and walked away.
Kelly drove along Palos Verdes Drive West and Palos Verdes Drive South clipping parked cars along the way until he went up Crest Road and rammed his car into the gate of the FAA radar tower at the top of the hill.
Kelly has had prior DUI and reckless driving convictions going back as far as 1991. No motive was given, and Kelly is being held at Los Angeles County Jail in lieu of $30,000 bail.
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