Southern California freeway attack kills driver

LYNWOOD, Calif. (AP) A car-to-car freeway shooting killed a driver, injured his passenger and backed up traffic for miles during the morning rush hour Monday, authorities said.

The 2 a.m. shooting on the westbound 105 Freeway may have followed an argument at a bar, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Ray Peavy.

The shooting occurred when a car pulled alongside the victim's Ford Crown Victoria and the front passenger of the car opened fire. The driver of the Ford was hit in the chest and killed, and his passenger was hit in the arm.

The Ford slammed into the freeway center divider and the passenger jumped out and flagged down a sheriff's cruiser, Peavy said. The car the shots came from, identified as a light-colored Lincoln Towncar, sped off. No arrests were made.

The driver who was shot was identified only as a 19-year-old man from Hawthorne. His passenger, a 23-year-old Hawthorne man, was treated by paramedics.

The westbound side of the freeway was shut down for about four hours while homicide detectives investigated.

The driver and his companion were leaving the El Farion bar in Lynwood, where ``some type of argument'' had apparently taken place, when the shooting occurred, Peavy said.

Evidence at the scene indicated two guns were fired, police said.

Lynwood is about 18 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)