A county official charged with a fatal hit-and-run in Southcrest last month was working the day of the crash, according to county records.
Assmaa Elayyat, a deputy director with the county’s Self Sufficiency Services, on Friday, May 22, allegedly veered off the road, struck and killed 27-year-old Katie Osorio while she waited for a bus on 35th Street and National Avenue. Elayyat then allegedly drove away after her car initially got caught in a tree, only to be arrested by police soon after.
County timecard records for Elayyat list her as working eight hours that day on an 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule. Elayyat’s work calendar separately shows she was scheduled to attend up to three Microsoft Teams meetings immediately before and after the roughly 1:50 p.m. accident.
Records obtained by Voice of San Diego show Elayyat had four other Microsoft Teams meetings that Friday plus a 12:30 p.m. event. Her calendar also notes a 6:40 p.m. Padres baseball game that evening.
County spokesperson Tammy Glenn declined to comment on whether Elayyat may have been driving to or from a work-related meeting at the time of crash. She also would not clarify whether Elayyat is on leave and if the county is investigating, saying that the county is unable to “provide confidential personnel information.”
It’s also unclear whether Elayyat attended or planned to attend all the events on her May 22 calendar. County officials also redacted details on the 12:30 p.m. event on Elayyat’s calendar and noted when releasing records that salaried workers like Elayyat typically don’t record partial workdays on their calendars.
Elayyat has been with the county for roughly six years. She was paid about $172,000 annually in 2025, according to Transparent California.
What is clear is that San Diego police arrested Elayyat that afternoon about a mile and a half from the National Avenue crash on suspicion of vehicle manslaughter with gross negligence and a hit-and-run resulting in death or permanent serious injury, according to police records.
Authorities say Elayyat’s Infiniti G35 struck and killed Osorio, who had been set to get married this summer. Osorio’s family says she had just gotten off work.
NBC 7 San Diego reported that Deputy District Attorney Hailey Williams said Elayyat’s car hit the bus stop and a tree and that she “struggled to extricate her vehicle from the tree because she had struck it with such force.”
The prosecutor also said that Elayyat’s vehicle nearly hit Osorio a second time before driving away – and that her front bumper and driver’s side mirror were left behind.
When confronted by San Diego police after they used license plate readers to track the car, Williams said Elayyat told an officer she “could not recall the collision, but admitted she may have struck a sign on National Avenue,” according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Elayyat pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter and hit-and-run charges earlier this month. She is out on $50,000 bail but has been barred from driving or leaving the county.
Elayyat’s attorney Jeffrey Gold said she voluntarily agreed to wear an alcohol-monitoring device on her ankle though she isn’t facing any charges tied to driving while intoxicated. He also said that the San Diego County official, who was convicted of a DUI in San Bernardino County in 2010, had been distraught after the deadly May shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego that “led her to make dire decisions that were based on stress and emotions,” according to NBC 7.
Gold could not be reached for comment last week.
If convicted, Elayyat could face up to 11 years in state prison.
In a statement, Glenn wrote that county officials are “deeply saddened” by the incident.
“Our hearts go out to the family, friends, and all who are grieving during this incredibly difficult time,” Glenn wrote.
Naomi Granata contributed.
I hope they fry that insensitive, disgusting and dishonest tramp. If they happen to release her, I hope she gets the street justice she deserves.
Why doesn’t your story mention if she was test at the scene for being under the influence? I don’t recall any other Voice article regarding a hit and run excluding testing! What’s the police report say?
As residents we paid her for this. Work with these county employees and this all checks out, zero accountability post covid,
Why would the county hire someone with a DUI for a position that requires driving as part of the job? No one drives drunk just once. How many other times would she have gotten a DUI had she been caught? This was a huge red flag that led to liability for the county.