OFF THE WIRE
An off-duty San Diego County sheriff's deputy was intoxicated when she drove over a pedestrian's foot and hit several parked vehicles and a fountain in Palm Desert last week, authorities said.
Barbara Jean Crozier, 47, faces charges of driving under the influence and felony hit-and-run. She was booked into the Indio jail and released Aug. 31 and has a Nov. 2 court date, jail records show.
Deputies responded to a hit-and-run report around 8:09 p.m. Aug. 30 in the parking lot of an apartment complex at Waring Drive and Town Center, according to a Riverside sheriff's press release. A witness said a vehicle driven by a woman hit several parked vehicles and ran over a pedestrian's foot before fleeing.
At 11:41 p.m., a call came in about a vehicle hitting a fountain in front of the Marakesh Country Club. The vehicle's license plate matched that of the vehicle in the apartment complex incident, deputies said.
Crozier was arrested based on witness statements and evidence collected at the scene.
Melissa Aquino, a spokeswoman for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, confirmed that Crozier is a deputy assigned to the Santee station.
In an e-mail, Aquino wrote that it is standard procedure to start an internal affairs investigation when an employee is arrested. She wrote she could not comment on the investigation.
The incident is the second in recent months involving a San Diego County deputy.
Riverside County deputies in July accused Lauren McAllister of Temecula of obstructing a rape investigation.
http://blogs.pe.com/news/digest/2011/09/palm-desert-san-diego-deputy-c.html
