Deputy Is Arrested in Fatal Crash in Lancaster

A sheriff’s deputy was arrested early Sunday morning on suspicion of felony drunk driving after his car collided with another car, killing a 20-year-old Lancaster woman and injuring four other women, sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputy Clarence M. Stewart III, an 11-year veteran of the department who was off duty at the time of the incident, was arrested at the scene, according to a sheriff’s spokeswoman, Deputy Carrie Stuart.

“We know that he was intoxicated and any time we believe someone is intoxicated and there was a death resulting from an alcohol-related accident, it’s a felony,” Stuart said.

Stuart said that the district attorney will decide if other charges will be filed against Stewart, 32, who lives in Lancaster.

Danielle Harris, a lifelong resident of Lancaster, was killed in the crash, according to a Los Angeles County coroner’s official. Harris, who had a 2-year-old daughter, died shortly after being taken to Lancaster Community Hospital, sheriff’s deputies said.

Friends and relatives of Harris gathered Sunday evening at the modest home she shared with her daughter, mother and two brothers. Friends said that her mother, Mary Kelly, was in bed, overcome with shock and grief.

“When you lose a child, first you experience shock, denial, numbness,” said Rosa Charles, a childhood friend of Harris’ mother. “She cannot accept the fact her daughter is gone, at the hands of another.”

Harris was born and reared in Lancaster. She graduated from Desert Winds High School in 1994 and was attending The Bryman School in Canoga Park, in hopes of becoming a medical assistant, friends said.

Friends described Harris as a fun-loving, outgoing person who also “liked to sit back and watch the crowd.”

Relatives said Harris and the other women in the car were longtime friends who would often hang out together. They had gone out Saturday night to one of their favorite spots for a night of dancing.

According to deputies, the women were pulling out of the parking lot of Frankie’s Night Club at 42101 Sierra Highway at about 2 a.m. Sunday when their Toyota Tercel was struck by Stewart’s car.

Deputies said they did not know how fast Stewart was driving at the time of the accident. The busy four-lane road has a 55-mph speed limit.

Stuart said the woman driving the other car also had been drinking, but hospital tests showed her blood-alcohol level did not exceed the state’s 0.08% limit at which drivers are considered legally drunk.

Stewart voluntarily took a blood-alcohol test at the scene, Stuart said, but results won’t be available until Tuesday.

One woman in the car suffered a fractured rib and was listed in fair condition at Antelope Valley Medical Center, hospital officials said. The three other women were treated for minor injuries and released. Officials would not release their names, but said that they were all from Lancaster and all in their 20s.

Lt. Nils Linder of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Harris was the only person involved in the crash not wearing a seat belt.

Stewart, who suffered minor injuries, was booked at the sheriff’s Antelope Valley station. He initially was held on $30,000 bail, but was released Sunday morning on his own recognizance because he had no prior arrests and was not considered a flight risk, Stuart said.

Funeral arrangements for Danielle Harris are pending, her family said.

Renwick is a Times staff writer, and Moeser a special correspondent in the Antelope Valley.