A 33-year-old Victorville man is behind bars on $250,000 bail after authorities say he slammed a Mercedes SUV into a marked San Bernardino County Sheriff's patrol vehicle early Tuesday on Highway 18 in Apple Valley, injuring the deputy inside and then running off on foot before deputies tracked him down nearby.
The crash was reported around 12:49 a.m. in the westbound lanes of Highway 18 near Rimrock Road, according to VVNG. The deputy had positioned the marked patrol vehicle across the lanes of traffic, with its vehicle and emergency lights activated, to warn motorists of a lane closure and ongoing police activity when the SUV struck it. The deputy, who was seated in the driver's seat at the time, was transported to a local hospital for treatment and has since been released.
Tyrone Hall, the identified 33-year-old driver, fled the scene on foot after the collision, per the same report. Deputies detained him a short distance away, and he was also taken to a local hospital, treated for injuries, and later released. He was then booked at the High Desert Detention Center on suspicion of felony driving under the influence causing injury and felony hit-and-run, according to authorities.
A Pattern Of Danger On The Same Stretch Of Road
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's Major Accident Investigations Team is handling the investigation, with Deputy Eli Harrison, who works with the unit, asking witnesses and anyone with information to come forward. These specialized teams rely on physics, scene surveying equipment, and computer-aided design software to reconstruct crashes and pin down causation, according to the California Highway Patrol.
This is not the first time a stretch of Highway 18 in Apple Valley has turned deadly this year. Hoodline previously reported that a 41-year-old pedestrian was killed in an unsolved hit-and-run near Rancherias Road on August 28, with the driver still at large. And back in March, a wrong-way driver near Mandan Road caused a five-vehicle pileup that killed one person and hospitalized two others, prompting a multi-hour closure.
Officers Struck During Traffic Stops A Recurring Risk
Tuesday's crash also isn't the first time a patrol vehicle stationed to control traffic in the Apple Valley area has been hit by a suspected impaired driver. In a separate incident detailed on Facebook, a 42-year-old driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI after crashing into a sheriff's patrol unit. Vehicles stopped for traffic control face elevated collision risk from impaired drivers, a pattern that has repeated itself across the High Desert.
California's Move Over law, codified in Vehicle Code Section 21809, requires drivers approaching a stationary emergency vehicle with active flashing lights to change lanes or slow down, according to Pines Salomon Personal Injury Lawyers. Drivers who fail to move over or reduce speed can face traffic citations and civil or criminal liability if a first responder is struck.
What Hall Could Be Facing In Court
California Vehicle Code Section 23153 covers driving under the influence causing bodily injury. The offense can carry up to four years in state prison and fines as high as $5,000, according to the Kraut Law Group. The allegation concerns claimed impairment and resulting injury.
The felony hit-and-run allegation stems from Vehicle Code Section 20001, which makes fleeing the scene of an injury or fatal collision punishable by two, three, or four years in state prison, or up to a year in county jail, plus fines between $1,000 and $10,000. California law requires drivers involved in injury collisions to stop immediately and provide identification and reasonable assistance, regardless of fault.
A Broader Problem With Impaired Driving In The County
San Bernardino County reported 14,743 total victims injured or killed in motor vehicle collisions in 2025, a 3% decline from the prior year, according to San Bernardino County's Community Indicators data. Even with that dip, traffic safety on major High Desert arterials like Highway 18 remains a persistent public concern.
Impaired driving remains a concern in the region's most serious crashes.
Hall was booked at the High Desert Detention Center. Deputy Eli Harrison is asking anyone with information about the crash to call 760-947-1500. The report provides no further details.
