David Charvet's morning took a tragic turn when, while driving his truck in a Malibu neighborhood during the early morning hours of April 16, he allegedly struck and killed a pet dog, as reported by law enforcement to People and TMZ. According to a spokesperson for the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Department, an investigation is underway, though it appears that Charvet's actions were not intentional. "It sounds like it was accidental, and that the dogs were off-leash and ran into the roadway," the spokesperson told People on April 16. "[Charvet] tried to swerve to avoid hitting them."
Charvet's representative also offered a similar recollection of events to TMZ, alleging that the Melrose Place actor was driving slowly around 5:30 a.m. when he encountered a woman and her dogs in the middle of the street. Although Charvet moved to the side to safely pass them, "one of the dogs moved under the vehicle." The 53-year-old immediately called 911 and remained at the scene, his representative said, adding that he is "a responsible dog owner who would never intentionally harm an animal."
Charvet "fully cooperated with the investigation and made himself available for any further help," his representative told TMZ, and the actor's "thoughts are with the family who lost their dog." E! News has reached out to Charvet's manager and the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Department for comment but has not received a response.
Although Charvet and police felt the incident was accidental, the dog's owner, Vera Errico, saw the events differently. Errico told TMZ that she was walking her three dogs on leashes in the gated community when Charvet allegedly drove by in his pickup truck and hit her 11-year-old white English Labrador named Sunday. Errico alleged that Charvet drove out of the community before he stopped to call authorities. The grieving dog owner said that she and her husband rushed Sunday to the vet but sadly had to euthanize the dog.
Following the incident, Errico and her husband filed a report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office regarding an alleged hit-and-run, per TMZ. However, police sources told the outlet that they do not consider this to be a hit-and-run since Charvet reported it to authorities.
