Driver viciously attacked by group of men on bikes in wild downtown LA brawl caught on video

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Shocking video shows the moment a group of young men on bicycles viciously attacked a driver, leaving him badly beaten in the middle of a street in downtown Los Angeles.

It happened on Thursday afternoon in front of the Fox Jewelry building near Hill and 6th streets.

Gary, a witness who spoke with Eyewitness News on Friday who didn't want to share his last name, saw the entire brawl unfold from the 13th floor of an office nearby.

The group apparently left the driver of a white truck severely injured with blood all over his face.

Gary captured the violent fight on video.

"I'm glad that people on the street helped because they were putting a number on him," he said. "I know he instantly regretted his decision to get out of his vehicle."

What led up to the fight is unclear, but jewelry store employee Roman Kim was told an alarming story.

"There are six guys on their bikes, just swerving in and out like they own the road, which is kind of nuts because with how busy everything is, you can't really be doing this," he said. "But I guess the guy in the truck was honking at them because he got cut off in traffic."

Gary heard a slightly different story.

"The word is the guy in the truck hit a kid on the bike and tried to take off and then got caught up in traffic on the corner," he said.

When the group started damaging the windshield of the man's truck, the driver got out and a fight ensued.

Road rage incidents reported by the Los Angeles Police Department have increased in recent years.

Totals in both 2022 and the last 12 months are roughly 30% more than totals in 2018 and 2019.

"You feel for the guy, but stuff like this is happening so much around here lately, you kind of start to get desensitized a little bit," said Kim. "You want to keep that humanity and feel, but ..."

Gary shared a similar sentiment.

"It's horrible that people are acting the way they are," he said. "I'm not going to say it's justifiable ... it was a bad situation. They made the block look bad, it made the city look bad, but you know, it is what it is. Let's hope maybe people can try to be a little more peaceful around here so we can do better business."

The driver was somehow able to get back in his truck and drive away.

There's no update on the condition of both the driver and one of the men on a bike who was reportedly injured.