‘Be-a-Wimp’ Advice Fails, but Bullet Misses Driver

Tow truck driver Marty Korse figured it was sage advice: In case of a freeway face-off, be a wimp and let the other guy have his way.

It sounded like good advice at a time when people were getting shot, and some were getting killed, by enraged drivers on Southern California’s crowded roadways.

So, when Korse’s way onto the southbound Golden State Freeway in Sun Valley was blocked by a pickup truck Monday night, he said, he slowed and planned to merge behind it.

But a confrontation ensued anyway, and Korse, although he was not hurt, became involved in the 11th reported traffic-related shooting in six weeks.

“The psychologists are saying ‘Be a wimp,’ and, ‘It’s OK,’ ” Korse, 26, of Van Nuys, said. “But it doesn’t matter anymore. . . . I was minding my own business, doing my job, and it didn’t seem to matter.”

‘A New Pastime’

The single shot from the passenger side of the pickup apparently sailed over the cab of the tow truck on the freeway near Penrose Street, Los Angeles Police Lt. Ron LaRue said.

In other recent incidents of roadway violence in Southern California, four people have died, two have been wounded, and two others were injured slightly.

“I really feel like it’s becoming the new pastime in L.A.,” Korse said.

After Korse slowed to cut in behind the yellow, older-model Datsun pickup about 9:45 p.m. at the Branford Street entrance ramp, the pickup also slowed, Korse said. Korse was forced to use the freeway shoulder to pass the pickup, which then began tailgating the tow truck, he said.

Trying to avoid a confrontation, Korse said, he pulled to the shoulder, but the pickup followed him there. Korse flashed the tow truck’s brake lights and overhead yellow strobe and then decided to “make a run for it” on the freeway, he said.

But as the tow truck neared Penrose Street, the pickup pulled up alongside on the left, and a passenger opened fire, Korse said in an interview, leveling his finger and then raising it sharply to demonstrate the gunman’s motion.

Investigation Continues

Korse said he gave a partial license number to police, who said an investigation was continuing.

“We’re going to need more information for sure and some luck to get this guy in custody,” LaRue said.

Korse described the gunman as a light-haired man in his mid-20s.

He said he had been driving a tow truck for six years, and he speculated that the gunman might resent tow-truck drivers.

“People hate tow drivers, because, to them, we represent the impoundment of their cars,” Korse said. “. . . We’re there to help people, and it’s really ironic that they would go after a tow driver.”