Tuesday May 6

Road assaults occur over weekend

Two juveniles hospitalized in gang-related incident

By Kristina Peterson / Daily News Staff Writer

Angry drivers injured several people in Mountain View over the weekend, police reported Monday.

Around 8:41 p.m. Friday, two men got into a road rage incident on the 100 block of El Monte Avenue. Los Altos resident Nicholas Cairns, 46, allegedly swerved into a person on a motorcycle before fleeing the scene, said police spokeswoman Liz Wylie. Officers quickly tracked down Cairns in a nearby parking lot, where he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and a hit-and-run felony. The victim sustained minor to moderate injuries, Wylie said.

The following day, around 8:30 p.m., three Hispanic victims were walking southbound on Rengstorff Avenue near its intersection with California Street, when they "exchanged words" with a motorist, said Wylie, noting that all parties involved are associated with gangs.

The driver, 18-year-old Mountain View resident Edgar Alberto Lopez, then allegedly rammed his car into the three victims, sending a 9-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl to the hospital with minor to moderate, non-life-threatening injuries, Wylie said. The third victim, a 25-year-old man sustained only minor cuts and was not hospitalized.

A nearby police officer arrested Lopez at the scene, Wylie said.



E-mail Kristina Peterson at kpeterson@dailynewsgroup.com.