Officer at Sobriety Checkpoint Is Run Over by Car
A motorcycle officer working a sobriety checkpoint in Van Nuys was hit by a suspected drunk driver Sunday morning, police said.
Officer Jeffrey G. Williams, 41, was listed in serious but stable condition at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills.
The driver of the car, Juan Hinojosa, 24, of Panorama City was held on suspicion of felony drunk driving. Officers expect to file an additional felony hit-and-run charge today, a police spokesman said.
Williams was one of six Los Angeles Police Department and California Highway Patrol officers assigned to a sobriety checkpoint on Van Nuys Boulevard near Nordhoff Street. Officers were stopping vehicles traveling south on Van Nuys.
After leading one car to the checkpoint about 1:10 a.m., Williams was traveling north on Van Nuys when he was hit from behind by Hinojosa, who was traveling 65 to 75 m.p.h., police said. The officer was thrown from his motorcycle and landed on the hood of Hinojosa’s car.
With the officer on the hood, Hinojosa spun the car around and tried to flee, throwing Williams to the ground and running over him, police said.
Officers arrested Hinojosa a few blocks away. His blood-alcohol level registered at 0.22, nearly triple the legal limit of 0.08, police said.
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