Woman Allegedly Drives Car into Parks Employee at Eaton Canyon Nature Center

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said today that Parks Bureau deputies arrested a twenty-eight year-old woman, Arune Kavaliauskaite, for an assault with a deadly weapon against an employee of the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation at the Eaton Canyon Nature Center which occurred about 3:00 p.m. on Friday.

The Sheriff’s Dept. says a Recreation Service Leader was checking the area for homeless encampments when she saw a dog running without a leash.

She contacted the suspect, Kavaliauskaite, the owner of the dog, and warned her about the unleashed dog.  The Recreation Service Leader reportedly had to warn Suspect Kavaliauskaite two additional times about her dog when she returned to that area.

Kavaliauskaite became hostile toward the victim, the Sheriff”s Dept. says, who then called her office for additional personnel as she feared for her safety.

Kavaliauskaite and her dog got into a vehicle. The victim was standing a short distance away from the vehicle taking a picture of Kavaliauskaite in the vehicle for future identification when Kavaliauskaite allegedly accelerated forward with the vehicle into the victim, striking her in the legs and knocking her back into a parked vehicle, authorities say.

The Sheriff’s Dept. says that Kavaliauskaite then stopped the vehicle putting her left front tire next to the victim’s feet. She turned the wheel causing the tires to turn into the victim and then accelerated and fled the scene. One of the vehicle’s tires ran over the victim’s shoe top barely missing her toes.

The victim was treated for injuries to her legs at a local hospital and was released.

Deputies contacted Kavaliauskaite at her home in Altadena where she was arrested without incident. She was booked at Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station where she is being held in lieu of a $30,000 bail.

The Parks Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department polices 149 county parks throughout Los Angeles County. The Sheriff’s Parks Bureau is dedicated to providing a safe and drug free environment at all county parks.

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