Driver seen speeding away from demonstration with protester on hood in Pasadena

Last Updated on June 1, 2020 by CCAR Staff

At least two drivers sped through a group of protesters in Old Pasadena on Sunday, with one vehicle taking off with a man still clinging to his hood.

In another incident, a white pickup truck with flags waving careened through the intersection, smoke blowing out of its tailpipe and sending some protesters scurrying away.

Both incidents scattered the group of about a few dozen people that had been peacefully demonstrating starting at noon at Colorado Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue. They joined thousands of people angry over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis gathering across Southern California that day.

The Pasadena Police Department said one driver — who they identified as Benjamin Hung, a 28-year-old from San Marino — was arrested Sunday on suspicion of assault with a vehicle.

Lt. Bill Grisafe said Hung was arrested shortly after he drove the white pickup truck through a crosswalk crowded with people. No one was injured in the incident.

Hung posted $30,000 bail and was released. He has not been charged — with courts closed across the county, a hearing date has not been scheduled. Lt. Garolyn Gordon of Pasadena police said an investigation into the incident was ongoing.

Witnesses and a friend of Hung also identified him as the driver of the pickup truck.

Sarah Montgomery, a 21-year-old University of Southern California student, was at the intersection when she said she and other protesters saw the truck speeding toward them with its horn blaring.

“People were literally running out of the way,” she said. “He was barreling at us with no intent to stop.”

Montgomery, who’s from Arcadia, said she tried to go to Santa Monica earlier that day for a protest but was stopped by police. On her way home, she stopped in Old Pasadena to join protesters there. She said the incident with the truck was frightening.

“I’m just glad everyone got out of the way,” she said.

There have been several reports of vehicles driving quickly at protesters gathered in streets or on freeways as demonstrations have spread around the country. A man in Minneapolis was arrested on Sunday for driving a fuel tanker toward thousands of protesters gathered on a freeway.

Grisafe said no one else was arrested for assault at the intersection on Sunday — the man seen driving with the protester on his hood was not taken into custody after the incident.

The sedan was seen nosing into the crosswalk with protesters on both sides. Some protesters moved to stand in front of the sedan, when the driver suddenly took off. A man with a green sign was stuck on the hood until the driver stopped.

Video and photos of the incident show protesters chasing after his car and a police unit responding to the collision. Police have not said whether the protester on the hood was injured in the incident.

Earlier video from the intersection shows protesters stopping a black sports car — the driver honks, but the protesters block his path and yell at him to turn around. He drove away peacefully.

This story has been updated and corrected to reflect the correct incident associated with the suspect named by the Pasadena Police Department.