VAN NUYS : Motorist Admits Running Over Officer

An Arleta man pleaded guilty Wednesday to driving drunk and running over a Los Angeles police motorcycle officer who was stationed at a sobriety checkpoint Thanksgiving weekend.

After he pleaded guilty to felony charges of driving under the influence and hit-and-run, Juan Hinojosa was sentenced to three years in state prison.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge John Fisher sentenced Hinojosa, 24, after he agreed to a plea bargain in which prosecutors dismissed two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

Authorities said Hinojosa had a blood alcohol content of at least 0.22 percent--nearly three times the legal limit--when he ran over Officer Jeffrey Williams.

Williams was stationed at a sobriety checkpoint at Van Nuys Boulevard and Nordhoff Street in Van Nuys.

LAPD and California Highway Patrol officers were stopping vehicles traveling southbound on Van Nuys Boulevard when Hinojosa, who was speeding in a northbound direction, struck Williams’ motorcycle, police said.

The 17-year veteran was thrown into the air, landing on Hinojosa’s 1980 Toyota and shattering the windshield, police said. Witnesses said the car spun out and the officer fell to the ground.

Hinojosa then made a U-turn and ran over Williams, Deputy Dist. Atty. David Mintz said.

Williams, who spent 15 days in the hospital, suffered a lacerated liver, six broken ribs and a punctured lung in the Nov. 28 incident. He has since been released from the hospital and is undergoing physical therapy with hopes of returning to the force.