A suspected drunken motorist was shot and killed Sunday at a Palmdale fast-foot restaurant, where he had crashed near the drive-through and was fatally wounded when he tried to break free from deputies arresting him.

Deputies were dispatched just before 3 a.m. to the 37900 block of 47th Street East, where according to a report, the driver appeared to be unconscious after the crash, said Deputy Crystal Hernandez of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

During the course of the investigation, a blue-steel pistol and a large baggie of marijuana was found inside the suspect’s vehicle, Hernandez said.

The suspect was placed in the rear of the patrol car and jumped out as he was about to be handcuffed. He began to fight a deputy and other deputies came to aid.

The fight was taken to the ground. At some point the suspect grabbed the deputy’s weapon, Hernandez said.

The deputy immediately tried to retain control of his weapon and told other deputies that the suspect was trying to remove his weapon.

All attempted to subdue the suspect, as he refused to let go of the deputy’s weapon, she said. A deputy-involved shooting occurred and the fight stopped.

Paramedics rushed the suspect to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

The deputies involved in the fight suffered cuts, bruises and abrasions, Hernandez said. It was not immediately known if any were transported to a local hospital.

Sheriff’s investigators asked anyone with information to call the Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.

— City News Service

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