CHP investigates 405 Freeway shooting in Van Nuys, the latest of several freeway assaults

A section of the 405 Freeway near Van Nuys was closed Friday as the California Highway Patrol investigated an apparent shooting that left one person hospitalized, the latest of a spate of freeway shootings over the last few weeks that have injured several motorists, including a father who was struck in the back.

The northbound side of the 405 Freeway near Burbank Boulevard was closed as officers searched the area after finding the latest victim of an apparent freeway shooting, CHP Officer Luis Quintero said. Officers received a report that a vehicle had crashed into the concrete median; when they arrived shortly after 5 a.m., they found a vehicle pocked with bullet holes.

The driver was transported to a hospital, and their condition was unknown, Quintero said. There was no information about a suspect or any other vehicles involved, and the incident remains under investigation. The freeway was reopened by the afternoon, according to the CHP.

Only two weeks earlier, on New Year’s Day, Noel Peña, 48, was driving with his wife and a relative on the 5 Freeway when an SUV cut him off somewhere near Norwalk around 3 p.m. The family were driving back home from a swap meet. After Peña honked his horn, some words were exchanged with the driver in the SUV, said Peña’s daughter Pamela.

Father of four Noel Peña, in this undated photo, was shot twice during a road rage incident on the Freeway 5 in Norwalk, California on New Year’s Day and survived. The shooter remains at large.

(Courtesy of the Pena Family)

Her father drove away, but then the driver shot at Peña’s Toyota 4Runner and he was hit twice somewhere near his armpit, she said. Her dad pulled his truck over while losing consciousness and her mother called 911. Several people pulled over to help, including a nurse.

“It’s heartbreaking to know that someone is capable of basically almost taking a life over what I want to say is stupid road rage,” said Pamela Peña, 20. Her father survived the shooting but has two bullets lodged in his body, including one in his throat.

Traveling nurse Arely Gonzalez was unsure if she should stop that day, but someone was waving their hands in the air near Peña’s truck. When she pulled over, she saw massive arterial bleeding, said Gonzalez, who has seen multiple gunshot victims as a former trauma center nurse.

“By the grace of God, I decided to pull over and help,” she said. “I was screaming at the other people to help me get him out of the car. I really think he would have bled out if I wasn’t there to apply pressure to the wound.”

The Peña family are not alone, as the California Highway Patrol is investigating at least three freeway shootings over the last month.

On Wednesday, doctors attempted to remove the bullet from Peña’s throat, but doctors resolved to leave it in place because it was in a delicate part of his body, Pamela Peña said

Her dad had a tube down his throat while he was in the hospital and now his voice is hoarse, but she’s unsure if that’s because of the bullet. The family started a GoFundMe to help pay for medical bills and other expenses, because Noel Peña, a UPS delivery driver, is the main provider for the household.

“Talking is his passion,” she said. He’s still cracking jokes, but his recovery journey is far from over.

“We just have to wait and see,” she said.

Friday’s incident came on the heels of a shooting on the 60 Freeway near Paramount Boulevard on Wednesday evening, when two men were injured after someone shot at their car. A dark-colored sedan pulled alongside the victims’ Mercedes-Benz E-350 and fired multiple shots, according to the CHP. The suspects drove away in an unknown direction; the victims drove onto the 101 Freeway and stopped near Balboa Boulevard to call police at 9:17 p.m. Both men were treated for minor injuries.

On Dec. 19, CHP officers responded to a shooting on the eastbound lanes of the 10 Freeway in Los Angeles . Just before 5 a.m., officers found a white Honda Accord parked on the right shoulder of the freeway, just east of Soto Street, the CHP said in a news release. Two men inside the car were shot and both were taken to a hospital . There was no clear motive behind the shooting or a description of a suspect or their vehicle, authorities said.

Officer Marco Lizarraga, a CHP spokesperson, said freeway shootings are rare and that all of the incidents are being investigated.

“When you consider the millions of drivers on the road each day, these shootings are rare and not common,” he said.

Anyone with information regarding either shooting can contact the CHP at (323) 980-4600.