A senior San Diego County health official has been arrested in a hit-and-run car crash that killed a woman waiting for a bus Friday afternoon in Southcrest, police and sheriff’s records show.
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Assmaa Elayyat, a deputy director in the sprawling Health and Human Services Agency, was booked into San Diego County jail Friday, according to sheriff’s booking logs. She faces one count of vehicular manslaughter and one count of felony hit-and-run before posting bail.
Elayyat, who has been with the county for six years, was released on $50,000 bail. No formal charges have been filed, the District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday, although she is due in court Monday.
She is suspected of hitting a 27-year-old woman who was at a bus bench Friday. Police did not identify the suspect or victim, but jail booking records confirm Elayyat was arrested on the same charges.
According to San Diego police, the driver crossed over oncoming traffic on National Avenue and then onto the sidewalk, crashing into the victim and the bus stop.
The cause of the crash is unclear, but the booking charges do not include any allegations related to drugs or alcohol.
“A 44-year-old female was driving an Infiniti G35 eastbound on 3500 National Avenue,” a police log says. “The 44-year-old female drifted over the westbound lane and drove onto the north sidewalk.
The driver hit the bus bench and the woman, then fled the scene, police said. The victim did not survive.
“The 44-year-old female was located nearby and arrested for felony hit and run,” the police log states.
San Diego County officials said late Tuesday that Elayyat is currently a deputy director for self-sufficiency services.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic loss of life. Our hearts go out to the family, friends, and all who are grieving during this incredibly difficult time,” county spokesperson Sarah Sweeney said in an email.
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Elayyat has served as a deputy director in the county’s public health office for the past two years.
She frequently advises the volunteer Social Services Advisory Board regarding public benefits and services to needy families and clients, according to county HHSA records posted online. She was paid $162,400 in base salary in 2024, according to the Transparent California database of public salaries.
The sheriff’s booking information lists Elayyat’s birthday as being June 1984, meaning she would turn 42 in a few weeks — contrary to the age of the suspect identified in San Diego police records.
The Health and Human Services Agency official appears to have no criminal record.
The county Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet released the name of the woman who was killed.
Elayyat was hired by San Diego County as a chief of agency operations in February 2020, just days before the pandemic shut down much of the nation and county health officials scrambled to stem the spread of the disease.
She was named deputy director of the agency in March 2023, her LinkedIn profile says.
Before working for San Diego County, Elayyat worked for the County Welfare Directors Association of California as a senior policy analyst. She previously worked at the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services as a program specialist.
Elayyat earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from UC Riverside. She later was awarded a master’s in public administration from Cal State San Bernardino.
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She is due to appear in San Diego Superior Court at 1:30 p.m. Monday.
