Man hospitalized, suspect arrested after Santa Clarita road rage incident ends in stabbing

One man was arrested and another hospitalized after a road rage incident turned into a stabbing in Santa Clarita on Monday afternoon.

It happened at around 12:15 p.m. near Newhall Ranch Road and Rye Canyon Road, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. 

While deputies say that they have a 35-year-old man in custody for the assault, the victim continues to recover in the hospital for the serious injuries he sustained when he was slashed with a knife. 

"Happened really fast, in a blink of an eye," said Leon Hernandez, the 39-year-old man who was attacked on Monday. 

He said that he was trying to make a turn into the Home Depot parking lot and that the suspect didn't want to let him pass, despite using his turn signal to signify his intent to get over. 

"I was slowing down, he slowed down. I sped up. He sped up," Hernandez said. "Then he punched it in front of my truck, slammed his brakes on in front of me and jumped out of his car, so that's when I got out of my car."

He said that the two exchanged a few words before things turned violent. 

"I saw he picked his hand up; he had a knife in his hand. He flipped it open, and he swung at me," Hernandez said. 

The blade sliced Hernandez's hand before the suspect got into his car and drove away, while Hernandez got into his truck and followed behind him to get his license plate number. 

Police caught up with the suspect before Hernandez did. 

"The police and ambulance were there in like two minutes; they got there super fast," Hernandez said. "He got arrested, they caught him about a mile away."

He's already undergone surgery at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital to repair the damage he suffered from the knife attack, which he said severed the muscle. Surgeons had to sew it back together, but said that his tendons remained intact and he can still feel and move his fingers. 

As he waits to get released from the hospital and return to his two children, Hernandez said next time something like this happens, he has a different plan of action. 

"I would advise people not to get out of your car. I probably still would again, but that wouldn't be so smart," he said. "So yeah, I would advise people to stay in your car and just drive around people. People are nuts, he could have had a gun."

The suspect, who hasn't yet been publicly identified, is due in court on Wednesday. Authorities have not yet identified the charges he may face.