Deputy Dies After Car Is Struck in Lancaster
A car ran a stop sign in Lancaster and broadsided an unmarked sheriff’s car Tuesday, killing a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy en route to investigate a burglary, the Sheriff’s Department reported. The driver of the first car was later arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter.
Deputy Rosemary Iris May, 49, a resident of an unincorporated area Lancaster, was pronounced dead on arrival at Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center after the 12:30 p.m. accident at Avenue I and 30th Street East, Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Shreeves said. She was alone in the car.
May, a Sheriff’s Department employee for 21 years who specialized in lifting fingerprints from crime scenes, was killed on her way to a Lancaster house to check for fingerprints after a burglary, Shreeves said.
A passenger in the first car, a man about 30 who lives in Rosamond in Kern County, was in critical condition at Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center, Shreeves said. His name was not immediately available.
The car’s driver, Edgar Gastelum, 22, also of Rosamond, was arrested after being treated for minor injuries at Lancaster Community Hospital, Sgt. Jerry Wolf said.
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