LA County Deputy Pleads No Contest To Hit-And-Run Rollover Crash

COVINA, CA — A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy pleaded no contest this week to charges connected to a hit-and-run rollover crash before which he may have consumed alcohol, the district attorney announced Thursday.

Orlando Sotomayor Flores pleaded no contest Tuesday to a felony count of reckless driving involving alcohol, causing injury; and a misdemeanor county of hit-and-run causing injury, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

The crash occurred on March 29, 2018 just before midnight. Sotomayor Flores, who was off duty at the time, was driving "at a high rate of speed" on the eastbound 10 Freeway in Covina when he rear-ended another vehicle, prosecutors said.

The crash caused the other vehicle to flip over and roll several times before hitting another car. A passenger in one of the vehicles sustained non-life-threatening injuries, prosecutors said.

Sotomayor Flores fled the scene. He surrendered to law enforcement about four hours later, according to the DA's office.

Investigators determined that Sotomayor Flores may have consumed alcohol prior to the incident, prosecutors said.

Sotomayor Flores is due back in court for sentencing Jan. 13. He's expected to be sentenced to two years of felony probation, pay $5,000 in restitution to the victims, complete a three-month DUI program, relinquish his Peace Officer Standards and Training certificates and accept a Watson advisement, a formal statement required by courts in drunken driving cases, according to the DA's office.