Ex-Judge Sees Civic Duty, Foils Hit-Run Attempt

In his days as a Superior Court judge, Bruce W. Sumner never heard any misdemeanor drunk-driving or hit-and-run cases, but now he is looking forward to being involved in such a trial from the other side of the bench--as a witness for the prosecution.

Sumner, now Orange County Democratic Party chairman, chased and detained hit-and-run and drunk-driving suspect Craig Letson, 28, of San Clemente after Letson rear-ended Sumner’s car on Coast Highway in Newport Beach Friday night, police said. And to make sure his suspect didn’t get away, Sumner grabbed Letson’s keys to detain him until police arrived, Newport Beach traffic investigator Mark Fisher said.

“Mr. Letson definitely ran into the wrong guy, literally and figuratively,” Fisher quipped Monday.

Sumner, 60, who credits other witnesses with helping him detain the suspect, said he didn’t have time to get scared while pursuing Letson, who drove off after the crash in the wrong direction on Coast Highway.

“I was angry and a little apprehensive,” Sumner said. “But I didn’t feel he should get away with it, and it was important that he not get back on the road. . . . It was miraculous he didn’t kill someone.”

The former judge said he was driving southbound on Coast Highway in his 1984 BMW, headed for a dinner engagement in Laguna Beach, and had stopped for a red light at Poppy Avenue “when this guy hits me from behind.”

The driver in a Volkswagen bug then backed up, drove over the center divider and headed into oncoming Coast Highway traffic before turning onto Poppy Avenue, with Sumner after him, police said. Sumner said he decided to follow the suspect to at least get his license number and was debating how far to pursue him when “the decision was made for me.”

While attempting to make a left turn from Poppy onto 2nd Avenue, Letson crashed into bushes in a residential neighborhood, Fisher said.

“I pulled up behind him, so he couldn’t back up,” Sumner said. Another driver--identified by police as witness William Crandall, 36, of Huntington Beach--pulled up along side so that Letson was “effectively blocked,” Sumner said. Police said Crandall had been behind Letson for several miles and had noticed his erratic driving.

The trapped suspect was eager to get away, Sumner said, but when Letson tried to start the engine, Sumner reached inside the car and took away the keys.

By this time, a crowd was gathering, Sumner said. “Three young guys came up, very large and strong looking, and I gave one of them the keys,” he said, adding that he asked everyone to stay because he did not feel adequate to detain the suspect by himself.

“The neighbors were great,” Sumner said. He said he did not identify himself as a former judge to them. “You hear stories about how people aren’t willing to get involved . . . but everyone who came along was very helpful.”

Sumner said he did identify himself as a former judge to the responding police officers and told them that he wanted the suspect prosecuted for hit-and-run driving. Although he tried to talk to Letson at the scene, Sumner said it was useless because “it was apparent he was under the influence of something.”

Fisher said Letson’s blood-alcohol level was .21, more than double the legal limit of .10. In addition to hit-and-run driving, Letson was arrested on charges of driving under the influence, reckless driving, possession of marijuana, driving with open containers of alcohol and two counts of driving on a suspended license. All charges are misdemeanors, including the hit-and-run charge because Sumner was not injured, he said.

Police found less than an ounce of marijuana in Letson’s car and six open 12-ounce cans of beer, all either empty or partially empty, Fisher said. Letson’s driver’s license had been suspended twice, the first time suspended until July, 1986, after an accident in San Clemente in February. It was later suspended again, until 1989, unless he showed proof of insurance before then, Fisher said. In the last 30 months, Letson has been cited four times for speeding, once for running a red light and once for running a stop sign, Fisher said.

If Sumner and the other witness, Crandall, had not pursued Letson, the chances of apprehending the suspect and successfully prosecuting him would have been remote, Fisher said. Even if police are able to trace a driver through a license plate, conviction for misdemeanor hit-and-run requires a witness to identify the driver, and most hit-and-run drivers are seen only from behind, Fisher said.

“It was neat that one party, and then another, decided to take off after him,” Fisher said. Sumner and Crandall appear to have handled the situation properly, said Fisher, who added that witnesses should never put their own lives in jeopardy while pursuing suspects.

Letson could not be reached for comment.

Asked if the suspect was aware of whose car he had run into, Fisher replied: “I have a feeling he soon will be.”

Sumner said he is certain that if he had not chased Letson, “he would have gotten away” and would have continued driving dangerously along Coast Highway.

The former judge, now in private legal practice, said he has not gotten damage estimates on his car but guesses the repair bill will top $1,000. The left rear panel, bumper and lights are damaged. “It’s drivable,” he said.

Sumner said he is “absolutely” going to testify against Letson. Despite his misfortune, Sumner said his run-in with an allegedly drunk, hit-and-run driver left him feeling reassured about his car and his community.

“It made me continue to feel glad I’m in a safe car and had my seat belt on,” he said. “It made me feel good about the community and the Police Department. Everyone was willing to be involved who came by.”