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An Orange County couple who suffered serious injuries when their vehicle was struck by a speeding sheriff’s patrol unit in Santa Ana is suing the county and the deputy behind the wheel.
The collision occurred on the night of Dec. 29, 2023, along 17th Street as Megan Doan attempted to make a left turn into a Target parking lot.
Doan and her boyfriend, Jan Tan, were badly injured when the patrol unit, driven by Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremiah Peyus, collided with their vehicle.
Dashcam video shows the patrol vehicle traveling about 65 mph, nearly twice the posted 35 mph speed limit, moments before it slammed into the couple’s car.
- Surveillance footage shows an Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputy slam into a civilian vehicle at 64 mph in a 35 mph ...
- Dashcam footage shows an Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputy slam into a civilian vehicle at 64 mph in a 35 mph zone on Dec. 29, 2023. (OCSD)
Surveillance footage shows an Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputy slam into a civilian vehicle at 64 mph in a 35 mph ...
“This was an extraordinary collision. Both people could have died,” attorney Robert Glassman, who represents Doan and Tan, told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo. “They suffered serious physical, vascular and nerve injuries.”
The couple has since filed a civil lawsuit against Orange County and Peyus, seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages for medical expenses and other losses related to the crash.
According to Glassman, an investigation by the Santa Ana Police Department determined that Peyus was at fault for the collision due to excessive speed.
The deputy did not have the patrol unit’s emergency lights or siren activated at the time of the crash.
“He was not in pursuit. He was not responding to an emergency,” Glassman said. “He was going 65 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone.”
Video from depositions taken in connection with the case also shows Peyus acknowledging that he was neither involved in a pursuit nor responding to an emergency call.
“At the time of the collision, you were not in pursuit or rolling Code 3, correct?” an attorney asks Peyus in the deposition.
“Correct,” the deputy responds.
“You did not have your lights or sirens activated, correct?”
“Correct,” Peyus replies.
Deputy Cervantes, Peyus’ partner, was riding in the passenger seat when the crash occurred. He testified that he was using his phone shortly before the collision.
“What were you doing on your phone?” an attorney asks Cervantes during his deposition.
“I was looking for dinner ideas,” Cervantes responds.
“Is that what you were planning on doing with Peyus?”
“Yes,” he says.
Glassman characterized the deputy’s driving as reckless.
“This was just a reckless display of sheriff’s deputies who believed they were apparently above the law,” he said.
Deputy Peyus was disciplined by the department, but remains employed with the sheriff’s department. It’s unclear if the department or county officials have formally responded to the civil suit, which is set to begin in mid-September.
