Man Arrested After Hit-and-Run Melee Injures 4, Shuts Down Freeway

An undercover sheriff’s deputy, a trucker and a 6-year-old boy were struck by a speeding car and another officer was bitten by a dog in a bizarre hit-and-run melee that closed the westbound Pomona Freeway in the City of Industry for more than three hours Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The victims were standing along the right shoulder of the freeway near the Azusa Avenue exit, where the deputy’s unmarked van, a flatbed trailer and a passenger car had collided in a minor rear-end accident, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Shortly after 8:10 a.m., a car that CHP officials said was driven by Thomas Marshall Penick, 42, of Los Angeles, came down the shoulder at about 60 m.p.h., hit the three victims and sped off.

The undercover narcotics detective, whose name was not released, was listed in stable condition with internal injuries in the intensive care unit of Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina, sheriff’s deputies said.

The truck driver, identified as David L. Butler, 42, of Long Beach, was hospitalized with minor injuries. And the boy, who was in the passenger car, was treated at the scene for scrapes and released.

In all, there were five undercover deputies in the van. Authorities said the officers were on duty, but would not reveal their mission.

Minutes after the hit-and-run collision, a sheriff’s patrol car arrived at the scene. One of the undercover deputies hopped into the car, which caught up with the suspect’s 1985 Chevrolet Sprint about three miles away on the center divider. As the deputy moved to arrest Penick, a black Labrador retriever jumped from the car and bit the officer on the arm, officials said.

The deputy, who also was not identified, was treated at a nearby clinic and released.

All westbound lanes of the freeway were closed at Hacienda Boulevard near the City of Industry until about 11:30 a.m.

Penick--who was driving on a suspended license, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles--had his jaw broken during a struggle with the arresting officers, the CHP said. He was booked in the jail ward of County-USC Medical Center for felony hit-and-run, reckless driving and resisting arrest.

Authorities said they have not determined why the Chevrolet was being driven on the shoulder.

The dog remained at large.

“Luckily, this sort of thing doesn’t happen that often,” said Officer Dave Boyland, a CHP spokesman.