Local News in Brief : 2 Deputies Injured as Motorist Rams Car

Two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were injured Saturday in Santa Clarita when a suspected drunk driver rammed their patrol car after the deputies had stopped another motorist, authorities said.

Deputies Kenneth Lawrence and Glen Swanson were taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, where they were released after being treated for minor neck, back and leg injuries, Deputy Dan Cox said. Both deputies were given three days off to recuperate, Sgt. John Harley said.

The incident occurred shortly before 5 p.m. after the deputies, on Soledad Canyon Road west of Camp Plenty Road, pulled over a car for having expired registration tags, Cox said. The deputies were still in their car when a pickup truck driven by Michael Brown, 49, of Santa Clarita slammed into the patrol car, sending it into the back of the vehicle they had stopped, Cox said.

Brown was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving and resisting arrest after a struggle with the deputies that ended when another motorist stopped to help subdue him, Cox said.

The driver of the car the deputies had pulled over was not injured in the crash, although his car had to be towed away. Despite their injuries, the deputies cited the driver, a 40-year-old Pacoima man who was not identified, for driving with an expired registration.