Crime & Safety
Former Los Alamitos Mayor Sentenced for Drunken Car Crash
Catherine Ann Driscoll, 42, drove off a 605 Freeway on-ramp and hit a tree in May.
ORANGE COUNTY, CA -- A former Los Alamitos mayor was sentenced to three years of probation and nine months in an alcohol treatment program after pleading guilty to driving under the influence when her car hit a tree in May.
Catherine Ann Driscoll, who headed the city from 2004 to 2008, admitted to two misdemeanor charges: driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol level at 0.08 percent or higher.
The charges stemmed from a May 30 accident in which she drove her car off the Katella on-ramp to the south 605 Freeway.
Find out what's happening in Los Alamitos-Seal Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“As she entered the on-ramp, [Driscoll] drove over the side and collided into a tree,” California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Raymus Payton said at the time of the crash.
Driscoll, 42, was hospitalized briefly after the crash. In August, she pleaded not guilty to both charges, but switched her plea on Oct. 22.
Find out what's happening in Los Alamitos-Seal Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Driscoll must also pay a $390 fine and restitution to the Victim Witness Emergency Fund, according to court records.
