Monica Diaz, a 28-year-old Gilroy woman, was booked on felony DUI charges New Year’s Eve for driving under the influence of marijuana and running her car into Sheriff’s Deputy Shannon Catalano, who was on foot at the time and seriously injured as a result.
Just before midnight Dec. 31, Catalano, 29, was conducting a routine stop on a pedestrian on the side of Las Animas Avenue.
Diaz, who was driving a Mitsubishi sedan under the influence, approached from the eastbound lane. Diaz swerved her vehicle to the right and collided with “something,” according to Officer Erica Elias with the California Highway Patrol, who said Diaz then “realized she had collided with that deputy outside of the patrol car.”
Diaz was arrested and booked into the Main Santa Clara County Jail. She was released New Year’s Day on her own recognizance, or without bail, and is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. Jan. 15. at the South County Courthouse at 301 Diana Ave in Morgan Hill.
Catalano was transported to San Jose Regional Medical Center Tuesday, where she spent the night undergoing tests.
