Road rage attack video took the long way to LA

The video showing the assault on a Los Angeles freeway driver near downtown only got in the hands of authorities — and seen by you — because of an unemployed croupier and casino dealer across the Atlantic. YouTube took down the original video before it could be seen — too violent, apparently. If you watch, be aware it is on the raw and graphic side.

The LA Weekly explains:

The story might have ended there, except that the video was seen by Alan Quigg, an out of work croupier and casino dealer in Northern Ireland....

34-year-old Quigg, known as ghostsofmany on LiveLeak, lives on the northern coast of Ireland. He found YouTube footage of the fight on the website Reddit and realized it would soon disappear from the Internet forever if he didn't preserve it--and he was right.

Quigg explained to the Weekly, via email, how it works.

"I, and I'm sure others on LiveLeak, sweep over sites like Reddit.com (there is a sub-reddit for 'videos') where people post all sorts of links which take people directly to YouTube (mostly) or Wimp.com or Vimeo, depending on whether you want kittens, death, or art."

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After Quigg uploaded the video to LiveLeak, it was noticed by Weekly food writer Garrett Snyder who tipped the Weekly's news blog off.

The story was subsequently picked up by print, radio and television outlets around L.A.

The CHP has identified Jerry Patterson as the beating victim who was left lying on the freeway.