Unlicensed Driver Hits Officer At DUI Checkpoint In San Rafael
SAN RAFAEL (CBS/BCN) -- A police officer was injured when he was struck by an unlicensed and allegedly intoxicated driver trying to avoid a DUI checkpoint in San Rafael late Wednesday night.
The officer was struck at 11:17 p.m. Wednesday while participating in a pre-Thanksgiving DUI checkpoint at the intersection of Irwin Street and Fifth Avenue, police said.
The officer, an eight-year veteran of the department, was parked on his motorcycle with other officers at the Shell gas station on Irwin Street as Guillermo Garcia Rodriguez was driving north toward the checkpoint, according to police.
Rodriguez, 48, of Novato, stopped his Ford Explorer upon seeing the checkpoint, and in an apparent attempt to evade it, he put his SUV in reverse and rapidly backed it into the driveway of the gas station where the officer was stopped, police said.
The vehicle struck the officer, sending him to a local hospital to be treated for sprains and bruising. He was released on Thursday morning, according to police.
Rodriguez was detained by other officers at the scene. He appeared to be driving under the influence of alcohol, but a specific blood alcohol level could not be determined. He was also found to be unlicensed to drive in California, police said.
Rodriguez was booked into Marin County Jail on suspicion of felony DUI causing injury.
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