Deputy struck by suspected drunk driver near Casa Grande Airport

PHOENIX — The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said a suspected drunk driver hit a deputy’s vehicle early Saturday morning, knocking the deputy, who was standing on the vehicle’s passenger side, back toward a fence near the City of Casa Grande Airport.

PCSO said 32-year-old Bryan Whittemore hit the deputy’s vehicle at around 1 a.m. when he was waiting along the southbound lane of Pinal Avenue for a tow truck to tow an impounded Chevy Blazer.

The deputy was airlifted to a Phoenix hospital as a precaution and is expected to be OK, PCSO said.

Whittemore is facing several charges, including DUI, aggravated assault, endangerment, aggravated criminal damage, and reckless driving.

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