Bad weekend for a couple of L.A. County Sheriff's deputies who were parked on the shoulder of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

That's because they ended up, along with the car they were in, eating sand. This after a an alleged drunk driver in a grey BMW 550 rear-ended the black-and-white, sending it more than 20 feet down an embankment and onto the beach.

It all happened …

… about 1 a.m. Saturday in the 19400 block of PCH near Las Tunas Canyon, according to a sheriff's statement.


View Larger Map

The deputies had stopped to conduct a “safety sweep of the beach” on foot, according to the statement. When they returned to the patrol car it was hit.

The deputies were trapped, and rescuers had to use hydraulic saws and jaws to get them out. One of the two suffered serious injuries and was hospitalized while the other suffered minor injuries and treated and released within hours, according to sheriff's officials.

The fact that the had their seatbelts on, even though they were in a parked car, “saved them,” said Lt. Josh Thai of the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station.

That BMW driver?

He was identified as 44-year-old Mark Liebrecht, who was booked on suspicion of felony DUI. He was also injured and had to be hospitalized, according to the sheriff's statement.

His bail was set at a whopping $100,000.

The patrol car will have to be recycled.

[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com]

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.