Would-Be Rescuer Thrown Off Cliff, Dies From Injuries

An unidentified man died Monday of injuries he suffered when he was thrown 60 feet off an overlook on Mulholland Drive after apparently going to the aid of two women being taunted by about a dozen youths, Los Angeles police reported. One suspect was arrested.

The victim was thrown down the steep embankment of a roadside lookout point near Beverly Glen Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, Lt. Warren Knowles said.

Another would-be rescuer, Francisco Arevalo, 20, of Van Nuys, also was injured when he jumped down the embankment during the fight, police said. Arevalo told officers he knew the dead man, who appeared to be in his early 20s, only as “Carlos.”

Police arrested George Ubilles, 19, at his Van Nuys home Monday on suspicion of murder. Officers would not say what led them to Ubilles.

The lookout is a popular gathering spot for young people on weekend nights, Knowles said. The victim was fatally injured about 1:30 a.m. Saturday when he, Arevalo and another unidentified man came to the aid of two young women who were being taunted by about a dozen young men.

“The victims were in one of these groups of people who had gathered at the lookout,” Knowles said. “Another group arrived on the scene, started bothering two females that were there and our two victims attempted to come to their rescue. They wound up victims themselves. They were beaten up. One was thrown over the edge. The other went down on his own after being beaten.” The third man, apparently unharmed, fled in a pickup truck, he said.

Knowles said the two injured men landed in a ravine below the lookout. Los Angeles city firefighters rappelled down the embankment to rescue them, he said.

Arevalo was treated for cuts and bruises and released.

The unidentified victim died Monday at UCLA Medical Center of internal injuries.