Drunken driver accepts plea deal
Officer hurt in crash recovering at home
Will Bigham, Staff Writer
Article Created: 08/27/2008 09:48:13 PM PDT


RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A drunken driver who slammed his car into an Ontario police cruiser on the 60 Freeway, injuring an officer inside, agreed to a plea deal Wednesday that includes a two-year prison term.

Prosecutors say Israel Alexis Sandoval, 28, of Miami, failed to notice flares and police lights indicating lane closures about 2:45 a.m. Aug. 11.

Witnesses said he failed to brake in the moments before his rental car crashed into the police cruiser at speeds estimated by witnesses at 80 mph, causing the stationary police vehicle to catch fire.

An Ontario officer inside the police car, Ryan James Ronveaux, 24, suffered minor burns in the accident, and the humerus bone in his right arm - which connects the elbow to the shoulder - was shattered.

Sandoval pleaded no contest to one count of causing bodily injury while driving under the influence, during a hearing at West Valley Superior Court.

Sandoval is a legal U.S. resident but is not a U.S. citizen and could face deportation after his prison term, said Deputy District Attorney Mary Izadi.

Results of a blood test indicated that Sandoval's blood-alcohol content at the time of the crash was 0.13, in excess of the legal limit of 0.08, Izadi said.

Police said that Sandoval and his wife, 19-year-old Mary Lou Bretthauser, had been drinking at a Hollywood nightclub in the hours before the crash and were trying to drive back to a relative's home in El Monte.

The couple had arrived

in California for a vacation only three days before the crash.

Sandoval told a relative he had fallen asleep at the wheel before the crash. Bretthauser suffered minor injuries to her legs. Sandoval was not hurt.

Ronveaux remains at home recovering from his injuries, Izadi said.

California Highway Patrol Sgt. Dan Temple, who would have testified at Wednesday's hearing had Sandoval not accepted a plea deal, said he felt Sandoval deserved a longer prison sentence.

"He nearly killed another officer when he was drunk," Temple said.

will.bigham@inlandnewspapers.com

(909) 483-8553

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