VAN NUYS : Driver Enters Plea in Officer Injury Case

An Arleta man accused of being drunk when his car struck and ran over a police officer stationed at a sobriety checkpoint Thanksgiving weekend pleaded not guilty Wednesday to five felony counts.

Juan Hinojosa, 24, made his plea in Van Nuys Superior Court, where he was ordered to appear again Jan. 19 so attorneys can argue pretrial motions.

Prosecutors have charged Hinojosa with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of hit-and-run driving, and driving under the influence.

Authorities said Hinojosa had a blood alcohol content of at least 0.21--nearly three times the legal limit--when his car struck Officer Jeffrey Williams.

The officer was stationed near a sobriety checkpoint at Van Nuys Boulevard and Nordhoff Street in Van Nuys. Police said Hinojosa accelerated when he saw the checkpoint and struck Williams, who was sitting on a police motorcycle.

Williams was thrown into the air, landing on Hinojosa’s 1980 Toyota and shattering the windshield, police said. Witnesses said the car then spun out and the officer was thrown to the ground.

Hinojosa then made a U-turn and ran over Williams, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Gloria Maria Mas.

Williams, who spent 15 days in the hospital, suffered a lacerated liver, six broken ribs and a punctured lung in the Nov. 28 incident.

Hinojosa is being held in County Jail in lieu of $105,000 bail.