A man was last night fighting for his life in hospital after being attacked in what witnesses described as a “road rage” argument in south London.
The man, who is thought to be in his 50s, was assaulted on Stanthorpe Road bridge near to Streatham station on Friday evening.
South Londoners who witnessed the incident said a man got punched after a "right-of-way dispute" and saw someone running away from the scene.
Shafaq Hassan, a speech and language therapist who lives nearby, said: “We heard people outside our house and went to investigate.
“Passersby and neighbours had stopped. There was a man sitting on the road surrounded by a few people. I asked what had happened and was told he had been punched.
“As I'm an SLT I automatically sat down next to him to try and comfort him. He looked in shock and disorientated.
“He had a head injury on back of his head as apparently he hit the pavement and possibly passed out for few minutes."
She added: "I stayed with him as police and medics came. They asked questions to check if he remembered date and year. Eventually they put him on a stretcher and took into the ambulance.
“Other neighbours reported seeing him have a dispute with the other driver about who should give way at the junction."
The road, at the junction with Gleneldon Road was blocked off for several hours while police investigated.
At 10.30pm – more than five hours after the assault – the road was still cordoned off.
A spokesman for the Met Police told the Standard they were called by the ambulance service at 5.18pm on Friday to reports of a man who had been assaulted.
They found a man, in his late 40s to early 50s, who had been injured.
He was taken to hospital where he remains in a critical condition.
On Saturday police said he was now in a stable condition in hospital.
No one has yet been arrested, police said.
