MATH TEACHER ARRESTED IN COLLISION, PURSUIT, SCUFFLE.

Byline: EUGENE TONG

Staff Writer

GLENDALE -- A .09 blood-alcohol level plus a minor traffic collision multiplied by a sidewalk scuffle equaled an arrest for a local high school math teacher, authorities said Thursday.

Michel Heckman, 59, of Burbank is on administrative leave after his Feb. 8 arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence and fleeing the scene of an accident, an incident police believe led to a street pursuit and ended with Heckman throwing another man into someone's hedges.

The confrontation with Dong Jun Choi, 50, of Glendale occurred after Heckman hit Choi's minivan and drove away, according to police reports. Heckman failed several field sobriety tests, reports said.

He had not been charged as of Thursday and was free on $20,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in Glendale Superior Court on March 20.

Initial tests indicated he had a blood-alcohol level of about 0.09 percent -- above the legal limit of 0.08 percent for driving.

Heckman teaches math at Crescenta Valley High School and has been a teacher in the Glendale Unified School District for 12 years. He was placed on administrative leave Feb. 9 pending the outcome of the investigation, said Linda Junge, a district spokeswoman.

Heckman could not be reached for comment Thursday, and messages left with his attorney were not returned.

According to police reports, he had told officers who arrested him in the 900 block of Raleigh Street that he fled because he was scared of Choi, who caused a collision and began chasing him.

Heckman also told police he had two cocktails over dinner at a downtown steakhouse after a Glendale teachers picket disbanded.

But witnesses told police the incident began about five blocks away, when Heckman's rental car bumped into Choi's minivan, which had stopped for a pedestrian at a crosswalk at Glendale and Elk avenues.

There was no apparent damage to either vehicle. Choi pulled over, but Heckman kept driving, sparking a pursuit, the police report said. Both vehicles ran at least one red light during the chase, and Choi's minivan rear-ended Heckman's car when Heckman came to a sudden stop.

Witnesses said Heckman pulled his car onto a residential driveway, but it slid and came to rest on the home's front lawn. The chase continued on foot, until Choi caught up and the two came to blows.

Heckman allegedly punched Choi several times, then threw him into the bushes before police arrived.

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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