Ventura County Sheriff, K-9 Partner Injured After Collision With Drunk Driver

A file photo of law enforcement agencies working together in arresting a suspect barricaded in a home in Orange County, Calif., on Oct. 4, 2022. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

A Ventura County sheriff’s deputy and his K-9 partner were injured Dec. 16 when their vehicle was struck by a suspected drunk driver along Pacific Coast Highway.

The incident occurred Saturday evening around 8:40 p.m., officials said in a post on social media.

The deputy was driving toward a Malibu restaurant in response to a suspicious person in the parking lot. While heading southbound on Pacific Coast Highway near Deer Creek Road, they were struck by a white Mercedes speeding northbound, officials said.

The sheriff’s vehicle spun out when struck and was left dangling on rocks along the highway.

First responders found the sheriff’s vehicle while the Mercedes was found facing southbound in the northbound lane.

The deputy was reported to be conscious and alert and was transported to a local hospital with injuries, which were described as not life-threatening.

The K-9, a two-year-old Dutch shepherd named Danny, had a minor cut to his face but no major injuries, officials said.

Photos posted by the department on X, formerly known as Twitter, show Danny comforting the deputy in the ambulance before he was transported.

After being taken to a hospital for treatment, the driver of the other vehicle was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, and was already on probation for another DUI at the time of the crash.

Authorities have not released the driver’s name as of Dec. 19.

A short time before the crash, the California Highway Patrol said in a social media post that it had received a call for a white Mercedes traveling into oncoming traffic at high speed, and a few minutes later another call about the vehicle being involved in the crash with the deputy.