Documents reveal that accused drunken deputy was distracted by phone before crash
Deputy Ana Christina Alvarez told police that while driving with her four children from a birthday party, she was preoccupied with her mobile and failed to notice the Bakersfield Police Department vehicle that had stopped in front of her at a red light.
However, police suspect that distraction was not the main reason in the Oct. 21 crash.
According to newly revealed court documents, Alvarez performed field sobriety tests with red, watery eyes, a strong smell of alcohol, and indications of intoxication. Her children were released to family when she was jailed.
Alvarez, 33, is charged with DUI and four charges of child maltreatment, all of which are misdemeanors. Her pretrial conference is slated for next month.
The 9:30 p.m. crash resulted in no injuries. At the moment, Alvarez was not on duty.
At the party, Alvarez admitted to drinking two Modelo beers and a few sips of wine. According to accounts, she fled with the children — ages 7, 6, 4, and 3 — in a Honda Odyssey that collided with a BPD vehicle stopped at a red signal on Stockdale Highway near Village Lane.
According to the records, Alvarez, who stands 5-foot-4 and weighs 120 pounds, constantly interrupted and complained to the officer while undergoing field sobriety tests.
An officer ordered her to follow the tip of a pen as he moved it from side to side during the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, which detects involuntary jerking of the eyeballs. During the test, Alvarez kept saying, “The pen is black, it’s still black, it’s still black,” according to sources.
According to the records, she later pressed her finger to her mouth to assist her keep quiet.
She raised both arms to maintain her balance while performing the one-leg stand and did not count aloud as instructed, according to the reports. According to accounts, she did not complete the test.
According to the records, Alvarez declined to produce a breath sample, so cops got a warrant to extract her blood. The blood test results were not included in the documentation.
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