An early case of road rage

Oct. 17, 1904: “Roy Lewis, a very ‘fresh’ kid, had J.A. Walkey arrested for battery ... because the latter boxed his ears when he deserved it,” The Times reported under the headline, “Speedy Boy Clouted and Lectured.”

Lewis had been “hitting up a good pace” on his bicycle on Aliso Street “when Walkey undertook to cross, regardless of the dinging of the boy’s bell,” the newspaper said.

“Lewis refused to turn out and went so close to Walkey that he ran over his foot and then fired vile names back at him. Walkey ran after him and clouted him for his impudence.”

In court, Justice H.C. Austin “added to the lad’s discomfiture by giving him to understand that the dinging of his bell was not to be understood as notice to the people to clear the street” and that he would be punished if he showed up in court again, The Times said. As for the pedestrian, the newspaper said, “Because Walkey actually struck the boy, he was fined $1, but was not required to pay it.”