‘Baywatch’ Star David Charvet Accused of Hit-and-Run After Dog Is Killed by Truck

Baywatch alum David Charvet hit a pet dog while driving in Malibu in what authorities are calling an accident.

Charvet, who appeared as Matt Brody in the original Baywatch series from 1992 to 1996, was driving in the early morning of Thursday when his vehicle struck the dog.

“It sounds like it was accidental and that the dogs were off leash and ran into the roadway,” the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department told PEOPLE. “[Charvet] tried to swerve to avoid hitting them.”

An investigation is now pending, PEOPLE reports.

A representative for Charvet said in a statement that Charvet “is an animal lover and responsible dog owner who would never intentionially harm an animal” and “his thoughts are with the family who lost their dog.”

“At approximately 5:30 a.m. this morning, while driving through his neighborhood in low-light conditions, he encountered a neighbor walking three dogs off leash in the middle of the street,” his rep claimed, despite the dogs’ owner claiming they were on leashes. “He slowed his vehicle and moved to the side to pass safely. As he did so, one of the dogs moved under the vehicle. He immediately stopped, called 911, and remained at the scene until authorities arrived. He fully cooperated with the investigation and made himself available for any further help.”

The dog’s owner, Vera Errico, initially told TMZ, the first media outlet to report the incident, that Charvet drove by in a pickup truck, hit one of the dogs and drove away before he called 911. Errico said the dog, an 11-year-old white English Labrador named Sunday, was euthanized at the vet. She also said she and her husband filed a report with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office regarding an alleged “hit-and-run.”

TMZ reports that a law enforcement source said authorities do not consider the incident a hit-and-run because the actor called police.

In addition to Charvet’s Baywatch role, his other notable credits include playing Craig Field on Melrose Place from 1996 to 1998. He later left Hollywood to launch a Jones Builders Group in 2008, focusing on building homes in Los Angeles.

“It was one way for me to leave Hollywood and to still be creative,” he told PEOPLE last year. “It was also one way for me to ensure that I would be home every morning and home every night so that I could raise my two children.”