SALT LAKE CITY – A road rage incident resulted in a brutal beating Monday night, and one man is recovering from injuries as another is facing criminal charges.

A young man, his fiance and his 4-year-old niece were travelling by car to Sherwood Park, and during the drive they said another woman in an SUV tried to pass them.

Michael, who requested that his and his fiance’s last names not be used, said the woman waved her hands in the air and looked angry, but they didn’t think anything of it until a man confronted them on the playground 15 minutes later.

“We get to the park, and I’m playing with my niece and the next thing I know I see this guy coming up to me,” Michael said. “He’s like, ‘Hey you. Can I talk to you for a minute?’”

Michael said he had never seen the man, and he didn’t even get to talk to him before the attack began.

“Before I could say anything he started hitting me, punching me in the face,” he said.

SALT LAKE CITY — Researchers at a UCLA think tank say the Salt Lake City metropolitan area ranks highest in the nation for same-sex couples raising children.

Twenty-six percent of same-sex couples in Salt Lake City are raising children, according to a press release issued Monday by The Williams Institute at UCLA.

“The metro areas with the highest percentages of same-sex couples raising children are in states that have a constitutional ban on marriage,” the press release said.

The Williams Institute published separate findings for metropolitan areas with populations above 1 million (including SLC), metropolitan areas with populations below 1 million and individual states.

The State of Utah ranked 13th in the nation for the percentage of same-sex couples raising children. Slightly over 20 percent of same-sex couples in Utah are raising children, according to data provided by The Williams Institute.

By Alexandria Autrey

SALT LAKE CITY – Some Salt Lake City residents were without power Sunday morning after a van crashed into a light pole.

The crash happened just before 8:30 a.m. on California Avenue near Glendale Drive.

Police said a van was headed westbound on California Avenue when a dog ran out in front of the van.The driver swerved to avoid hitting the dog and ended up crashing into a light pole, which knocked out power for several homes in the area.

“Luckily he didn’t get hurt, no one else around the accident was injured but uh, just kind of one of those things you never know when something is just going to pop out in front of you,” said Lt. Scott White of the Salt Lake City Police Department.

The surrounding area was without power for 3 to 4 hours after the accident.