Man gets 12 stitches, suffers concussion after road rage beating in Stanton

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- A man required 12 stitches on his head after being attacked in a road rage incident Wednesday morning in Stanton.

Daniel Christensen walked out of West Anaheim Medical Center relieved that his injuries weren't worse. He suffered a concussion, has a huge welt on his temple and needed stitches.

"(The driver was) calling me all sorts of names, trying to get me to pull over. I kept telling him, 'I'm going to work, man. I don't have time for this. I'm not wasting my time.' So his response was, 'I'm going to make you stop,'" he said.

Christensen said another driver cut him off as he drove to work on Beach Boulevard in Stanton around 6:30 a.m. After the two exchanged words, he said the driver cut in front of him and slammed his brakes, causing Christensen to rear-end the other vehicle.

"He pulls out one of those batons and says, 'You hit my car.' Bam, bam, bam and just starts beating on me," Christensen said.

Christensen said the man then hit him with a metal baton through an open window several times. Bloody and dazed, he managed to drive away to safety. Surveillance cameras captured Christensen driving to a parking lot so he could call 911.

Orange County sheriff's Lt. Lane Lagaret said the suspect was in a newer model black BMW 550. He said the suspect is a man in his 30s, standing 5 feet 8 inches and weighing 150 pounds.

The sheriff's department is asking for the public's help to find the suspect. Christensen wants the man off the road so that he cannot hurt anyone else.

"I want him to do time because he needs to. There's no reason for anybody to think that that's OK to beat somebody for no reason," he said.

Anyone with more information on the crime is urged to call the OC Crime Stoppers at (855) TIP-OCCS.