KTLA reports that a woman was arrested on Monday after striking a California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer early Monday morning.
The CHP said in a statement that the crash occurred at approximately 4:45 a.m. at the intersection of Adams Street and Indiana Avenue in Riverside, where the officer was stopped at a traffic light.
The driver of a 2005 Hyundai Elantra struck the stopped officer. The force of the impact knocked him off of his motorcycle. The female driver of the Hyundai fled the scene of the crash.
An eyewitness to the accident followed the suspect vehicle and relayed its location to Riverside Police dispatchers. Riverside Police officers found the car approximately two blocks from the scene of the crash at the intersection of Lincoln and Tropicana Avenue in Riverside.
The driver has been identified as 26-year-old Heather Fernandez of Riverside. Fernandez was arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol and fleeing the scene of a crash resulting in injury.
Fernandez was booked into jail and is currently being held on a $50,000 bond. Additional felony charges may be filed against Fernandez since she injured a law enforcement officer.
Paramedics transported the CHP officer to an area hospital with moderate injuries. No further information was available about the officer’s current condition at the time of the report.
The Riverside Police Department’s Traffic Division asks anyone with any further information about the incident to contact them at (951) 351-6099.
