A sheriff's deputy was injured when an alleged car thief being pursued by authorities rammed her driver-side door as she was stepping out of her cruiser, pinning her leg, officials said Wednesday.
The incident began about 6:20 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Clinton Street and Mansfield Avenue in West Hollywood with sheriff's deputies in pursuit of a car that had been reported stolen, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.
During the pursuit, the driver spotted a deputy who was getting out of her patrol SUV for an unrelated call.
"The suspect looked in her direction, accelerated, and deliberately rammed her driver's side door with his vehicle," sheriff's officials said in a news release.
Deputies who were pursuing the driver stopped to help the injured deputy, whose leg had been pinned. The driver got away.
The deputy was taken to the hospital. Her injury was not considered life-threatening.
The driver kept going but bailed a short time later in the 100 block of North Sycamore Avenue, setting off a manhunt. He was found hiding underneath a home on that street and was arrested.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
Deputies identified him as 24-year-old Melvin Williams.
Williams faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, grand theft auto and felony evading. He was being held on $50,000 bail.
