Christian Martinez, and John Scheibe

Ventura

Simi Valley police arrested the wife of a Los Angeles police officer in connection with a New Year's Day collision that caused the officer's death, authorities said.

Alayna Monroe, 25, of Simi Valley, was arrested Thursday morning on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, three counts of driving under the influence causing injury and three counts of driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more causing injury, authorities said.

The two-car crash occurred early Jan. 1 at Sycamore Drive and Cochran Street in Simi Valley, authorities said. The intersection remained closed for about 10 hours after the crash.

Alayna Monroe was the driver of the vehicle in which her wife, Heather Monroe, 30, was a passenger, police said. In the other car, an Uber driver and her passenger were injured in the crash.

LAPD officer killed in Simi Valley collision identified

According to Simi police Cmdr. Robert Arabian on Thursday, the collision occurred as Alayna Monroe ran a red light.

While police allege she was intoxicated at the time with a blood-alcohol level of at least 0.08 percent, authorities declined to say Thursday exactly what her blood-alcohol level was.

Heather Monroe joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 2009 and most recently was assigned to its Devonshire Division in Northridge, according to the department. Hundreds of people gathered for her Jan. 12 funeral at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills cemetery, the department said.

The Monroes had been married for more than two years, according to the department.

Josh Rubenstein, the department's public information director, said in early January that "losing an officer is devastating, but the pain is intensified for the men and women of the department when it happens during what is supposed to be the happiest time of the year."



The department did not immediately return requests for comment Thursday.

Alayna Monroe was booked into Ventura County jail, authorities said. Her bail was set at $50,000, and she was released sometime Thursday, according to jail records. Her next court date is Feb. 17.

