A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who pleaded no contest to charges stemming from an off-duty, hit-and-run crash on the San Bernardino (10) Freeway in Covina that left one person injured was sentenced Monday to two years probation and a three-month DUI program.
Orlando Sotomayor Flores, 42, was also required to surrender his Peace Officer Standards and Training certification and to pay $5,000 in restitution to the victim.
Superior Court Judge Yvette Verastegui warned that he could face a murder charge if he drives under the influence and causes a fatal crash.
Sotomayor Flores pleaded no contest last Oct. 8 to one felony count of reckless driving involving alcohol causing injury and one misdemeanor count of hit-and-run causing injury, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said he was speeding on the eastbound 10 Freeway shortly before midnight on March 29, 2018, when he rear-ended another vehicle, causing it to roll multiple times before hitting another car.
Sotomayor Flores left the scene and surrendered to law enforcement about 4 a.m. the next day, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
He is “relieved of duty pending the outcome of the internal administrative investigation,” according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.