A sheriff’s deputy was injured in West Hollywood when an SUV driven by a distracted 26-year-old man suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs plowed into his patrol vehicle during a traffic stop, authorities said today.
The crash happened about 2 a.m. Friday in the 8900 block of eastbound Santa Monica Boulevard, Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez of the Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau said.
The deputy was standing next to the driver’s window of the stopped vehicle when he saw a Mercedes-Benz SUV speeding in his direction, Navarro-Suarez said.
The deputy leaped out of the way and the SUV slammed into the back of his parked cruiser, which was pushed into the deputy, she said.
The deputy was thrown into the air, onto the hood of the cruiser and then to the ground, Navarro-Suarez said.
He radioed the sheriff’s West Hollywood Station and was later taken to a hospital in an undetermined condition, she said.
Investigators think the SUV driver, identified as Bruno Carvalho Alcantara of Los Angeles, was possibly texting at the time of the crash. He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, was booked at the West Hollywood Station and released later in the day, Navarro-Suarez said.
— City News Service