A 21-year-old man was arrested Saturday after he threw his daughter into oncoming traffic and then attacked witnesses and police who were trying to subdue him, authorities said.
The 18-month-old girl was not badly injured. The wheels of an oncoming Volkswagen Jetta did not touch her, but she was burned and scraped by the car's undercarriage, police said.
The suspect, John Taylor, was stunned with a Taser and suffered minor injuries. Police did not release the girl's name but said she lives with her mother in an East Bay city.
She was visiting her father Saturday, and they had been at a friend's house. Police were still unsure Sunday afternoon why Taylor acted as he did.
The incident began about 5:30 p.m. Saturday when an off-duty police officer saw Taylor pick up and shake the girl on Fifth Avenue near East 15th Street, then toss her into a traffic lane, investigators said. She then was hit by the Jetta, and the officer gave chase to Taylor after a neighbor came to the car and pulled her out