Sheriff’s vehicle broadsided in Palmdale, DUI suspected

PALMDALE – A 41-year-old woman was jailed early Christmas morning after she crashed her minivan into a sheriff’s patrol vehicle in Palmdale, injuring a deputy.

Shanita Latrice Williams of Inglewood failed a field sobriety test and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, sheriff’s officials said. She was booked at the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station jail around 6:30 a.m. and is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to LASD inmate records.

The deputy-involved collision occurred around 3:20 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 25, after deputies responded to a motor vehicle collision on Palmdale Boulevard near 75th Street East, according to a news release from the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station.

“The deputies were assisting other deputies with traffic control when a 2003 Dodge Caravan driven by Shanita Latrice Williams traveling eastbound on Palmdale Blvd. failed to see the patrol vehicle with the light bar activated,” the news release states.

“The Dodge Caravan broadsided the patrol vehicle on the driver’s side, which caused the deputy to sustain a broken elbow,” the news release states.

Williams, the sole occupant in her vehicle, was not injured and refused medical treatment by on-scene fire department paramedics, according to the sheriff’s department.

The injured deputy was transported to and treated at Palmdale Regional Medical Center for a broken elbow.

Palmdale Boulevard, between 70th and 80th Street East, was closed until approximately 9 a.m.

The incident remains under investigation.

Anyone with information regarding this traffic collision is encouraged to call Palmdale Station’s Traffic Department at 661-272-2400.

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