Traveling man attacked with crowbar

In Merced, police reported that a man from Arizona was injured Monday after being hit in the head with a crowbar by an unknown assailant.

Police responded to the intersection of East Mission Avenue and South Coffee Street around 9:15 p.m.  The target of the assault was a man in his 30s who had simply pulled over when becoming tired driving on Highway 99, according to spokesman Lt. Bimley West.

The traveler chose this desolate stretch of road to rest Monday night

According to the victim, he slept for about 20 minutes when he woke up after a man who was around 19 or 20 years old knocked on the driver’s side window. The victim rolled down his window and the assailant asked him if he was alright and the victim told him he was merely resting.

The young man left, and then returned to the car with a crowbar in his hand, and when the victim spotted him, he gunned the engine to try and get away. The assailant ordered him of the car but the victim refused.  As the man began driving away, he suspect hit him on the left side of his face.

After driving to the nearby Ramada Inn, the victim called police and was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Merced where he reportedly received seven stitches to close the wound on his face caused by the crowbar wielding assailant.

The attacker was described as a white man, 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds who wearing baggy-style clothing, reported  the victim.

West said police advise against sleeping in a car, saying travelers should get a motel room for the night, or at least sleep in an area that’s well-lit, unlike the scene Monday. “There are some crazy people out there,” he said.

Police are asking anyone with information to call Sgt. Scott Skinner at (209) 385-4702 or the department’s automated tip line at (209) 385-4725.

Residents can text a tip to TIP411 (847411) using “comvip” as the first word in the text message.