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Long Beach Fire Captain Pleads Guilty To Hit-And-Run DUI

SANTA ANA (CBS) — A Long Beach fire captain pleaded guilty Tuesday to druken driving and other charges stemming from a hit-and-run crash that seriously injured a bicyclist.

John David Hines, 38, of Huntington Beach, was sent to a state prison for 90 days for a "diagnostic evaluation" program that provides treatment and recommends prison time or probation, Deputy District Attorney Andrew Katz said.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in December, and he faces a sentence ranging from probation to six years and eight months in prison. Katz said he will recommend a prison sentence.

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KNX 1070's Mike Landa reports.

Hines allegedly spent the morning of April 1 drinking at the Schooner or Later bar in Long Beach before getting behind the wheel of his Chevrolet pick-up truck at about 1:20 p.m.

He was eastbound on Westminster Avenue, between Bolsa Chica and Seal Beach Boulevard, in Seal Beach around 1:30 p.m. when he lost control of the truck. Prosecutors said Hines swerved into the bike lane, hitting 47-year-old cyclist Jeffrey Gordon.

Hines drove home to Huntington Beach, where he was arrested, Katz said.

He allegedly had a blood-alcohol level of .24 percent, about three times the legal limit, around two hours following the crash, the prosecutor said.

Gordon was treated for head and spinal injuries and a broken back at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, where he was hospitalized for two weeks.

»RELATED: Long Beach Fire Captain Faces DUI Charges In Hit-And-Run Crash


(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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