Car Trouble in ‘Dangerous’ Areas

* In response to “In Death’s Random Path” (Jan. 18), I have a story that may be worth sharing.

While driving from Claremont toward Los Angeles on Jan. 16, I was forced by car trouble to pull off the freeway. My engine died entirely at a deserted intersection in Pomona; I found a phone booth, called the Auto Club and returned to my car. A passing taxi stopped long enough to yell at me to get away immediately (I am white); the area was dangerous. Within minutes, a young African American man pulled alongside and said he was concerned because my warning lights weren’t working: Would I like him to light a flare beside my car? I thanked him, he did so, and was on his way. Shortly thereafter, two young Latino men approached, introduced themselves as volunteers for the Pomona Police Department, and then offered to help move the car out of the intersection to a nearby parking lot. This done, they insisted on staying with me until the tow truck arrived. By midnight, I was back in my own dangerous but more familiar neighborhood of Hollywood.

The Cosby tragedy and the experiences of Moet Williams, Gerald Well, Imelda Barba and Miguel Soto represent a grave problem, but crime statistics considered alone breed paranoia. My thanks to the citizens I met and others like them, whose actions form an uncounted statistic with the opposite message.

ENOCH ANDERSON

Hollywood