PALMDALE : Driver Had PCP in Car, D.A. Charges

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office will seek an additional criminal charge of possession of the drug PCP against the driver whose vehicle struck and killed a Caltrans worker on the Antelope Valley Freeway last month.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Steve Ogden said blood tests had determined that Scott Ellis III, 42, of Palmdale was under the influence of PCP at the time of the July 29 accident that killed Callie Joel Buser, 55, of Canoga Park. An undisclosed quantity of the drug also was found in Ellis’ vehicle.

Buser was painting surveying symbols on the shoulder of the freeway south of the Soledad Canyon Road overpass when he was hit shortly after 1 p.m.

Ellis already was facing charges of vehicular homicide with gross negligence while intoxicated and causing great bodily harm while driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

In addition to PCP, a powerful hallucinogen that causes extreme drowsiness, Ellis was apparently driving while under the influence of a prescription drug containing the narcotic codeine. He may also have been drinking, but the results of blood tests to determine that are not yet available.

If convicted of the three counts, Ellis could be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison, Ogden said.

Ellis is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail in the jail ward of Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he is recovering from injuries caused by the accident.