Hi-Desert Star reporter, Courtney Vaughn, of Morongo Valley, suffered a minor injury late Wednesday afternoon when an impaired driver, Casey Hallabrin, 32, of Joshua Tree, veered into oncoming westbound traffic on State Route 62 just east of Saddleback Road in Joshua Tree. Hallabrin was driving a 2006 Hummer H3 which struck the left side of Vaughn’s 2008 Volkswagen Jetta. The impact forced Vaughn’s vehicle into the next lane, where it struck a 1985 Volkswagen Jetta, driven by Melvin Dong, 54, of Victoria, British Columbia. Vaughn sustained an abrasion to her left arm when an airbag deployed. Hallabrin and Dong were uninjured. An investigation by California Highway Patrol officers determined Hallabrin was driving under the influence of drugs and had taken the vehicle from his mother without permission. According to CHP Halliabrin will face charges of felony DUI and vehicle theft. Vaughn is back at work.
