A former Downey police officer was charged in an alleged road rage incident that occurred in Long Beach in 2018 and involved two other vehicles, prosecutors announced Friday.
Peter Mendoza, 36, was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in an injury to another person, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
On Oct. 22, 2018, Mendoza, a Downey police officer at the time who was off-duty, was driving his truck in the Lakewood area where he allegedly struck a car with two people in it on a freeway onramp, causing the driver to lose control of his car and hit another vehicle.
Mendoza allegedly then fled the scene.
Both drivers and their passengers suffered moderate injuries.
Mendoza was scheduled to be arraigned Friday.
Prosecutors recommended that bail be set at $110,000, the DA’s Office said. If convicted as charged, he faces a possible maximum sentence of five years and eight months in state prison.
The case remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.