04/20/2015 — Sgt. Ken Black of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department reports that on Friday, April 17, 2015 at about 10:35 PM, officers from the Palm Desert Police Department responded to a report of a two-vehicle traffic collision on Highway 111 at Panorama Drive.
Several phone calls were received from the public regarding a silver Mercedes Benz that struck a black pickup truck in the rear, causing the truck to spin out of control and roll onto its right side.
The driver of the Mercedes did not stop at the scene of the accident, but fled the area traveling north on Deep Canyon Road. One of the reporting citizens began following the suspect vehicle and was able to provide a license plate number and its direction of travel.
Responding officers located the suspect vehicle a few minutes later traveling east on Country Club Drive near El Dorado Drive and they detained the driver to conduct an investigation. The driver of the Mercedes, 48-year-old Todd Crowe of Palm Desert, was eventually arrested for driving while intoxicated and misdemeanor hit and run. Crowe was booked into the Riverside County jail in Indio after being medically cleared at a local hospital. The driver of the black truck was uninjured in the collision.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department encourages anyone with information about this traffic collision to contact the Palm Desert Police Department at 760-836-1600 or Crime Stoppers at 760-341-STOP (7867).
Citizens may also submit an anonymous tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.