Doctors Amputate Arm of Man Trapped in Van

LYNWOOD —  Doctors amputated the left arm of a 53-year-old sandal maker who had tried to cut off the limb with a pocketknife while trapped in his overturned van last weekend, a family spokesman said.

Lee Risler had careened off the San Gabriel River Freeway early Saturday morning and ended up at the bottom of an embankment, his arm pinned by the van, for more than two days.

He tried to cut the limb off with a pocket knife, but dropped the knife. He then tried unsuccessfully to chew his arm off, family members has said. He was found by a Caltrans worker Monday.