Pinal sheriff's posse officer hits 2 parked cars

A Pinal County sheriff's posse lieutenant lost control of his police vehicle early Saturday morning and slammed into two cars parked in a driveway.

Now, the sheriff's office is still trying to figure out exactly what went wrong, and the residents are trying to get the county to pay for the damage as well as a rental car they needed to get to work.

No one was hurt in the crash when the black-and-white Ford patrol car drove into the driveway of a home in a suburban area south of Queen Creek.

Brandy Heiserman, 32, and her husband, David Heiserman, 39, didn't know what the commotion was all about until two Pinal County sheriff's deputies knocked on the door.

"They were standing at the door saying 'One of our guys ran into your cars,'" said Brandy Heiserman.

The patrol car, driven by posse member Sonny Griego, rendered the two Heiserman vehicles undriveable, said Brandy Heiserman.

A 1997 Ford Mustang lost a front bumper and headlights and the front axle may be damaged, according to an initial estimate. The car could be totaled, her mechanic told her.

A 2007 Pontiac Grand Am was less severely damaged but a rear wheel housing was pinching on the tire, making it undriveable, she said.

The Heisermans had to pay $250 cash for a rental car so that she could drive to work near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, take her three children where they need to go, and buy groceries.

"We can only afford to get one car right now because two cars are too much money," she said.

The Heisermans had moved into the neighborhood the week before. The two cars weren't in the garage because it was filled with boxes from the move, Brandy Heiserman said.

"That was our welcome to the neighborhood," she said.

Sheriff's officials said Griego was reaching for a dropped wallet when the crash occurred.He had just begun patrol with a new posse member, Andrea Villas.

A police report says that the car was traveling at 20 mph, less than the 25 mph posted in the The Crossing at Crestfield Manor neighborhood, where the Heisermans live.

The Florence Police Department did the crash investigation because the Pinal County Sheriff's Office was involved, said Vanessa White, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.

"I'm assuming they called Florence to take the report and make sure that it was an unbiased report," she said.

Standard procedure after a crash is for an officer to receive a blood draw to check for intoxicants. The standard return time is one to two weeks, and the results are not yet available, White said.

Griego will go before a review board as part of the sheriff's office's procedure.

Heiserman said that she finally heard from the county late Tuesday and was told that officials were going to be getting in touch with the insurance company. County officials say part of the problem is they have not received the police report on the crash.

The police report, meanwhile, lists a different insurance company and phone number, which Brandy Heiserman says she has called unsuccessfully.

The county is insured by the Arizona Counties Insurance Pool.

Joe Pyritz, a county spokesman, said that the county's risk management office did finally did contact Heiserman.

"We did call," he said. "We're encouraging them to get in touch with risk management and we can start working with them," he said.