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The driver arrested recently for a May confrontation with a bicyclist in Mount Washington has a history of violent encounters while behind the wheel. Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch points out a 1999 Los Angeles Times article about Louis Mraz, who was sentenced to probation and Caltrans road duty for punching a 72-year-old man "during a road-rage dust-up."Both the May 28, 2011 incident and the prior incident involve Mraz losing his temper after allegedly finding himself unable to pass the victim. In 2011, the victim was bicyclist Winona Wacker, who says she was knocked into the street by an angry Mraz, and left on the ground to accommodate his passing her as he drove his convertible.
The Times chronicles his prior encounter, which resulted in his being found guilty of misdemeanor counts of battery and vandalism:
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.
