Driver Passed Out In Front Seat Arrested For DUI After CHP Respond To Santa Cruz Noise Complaint
SANTA CRUZ (CBS SF) -- California Highway Patrol officers in Santa Cruz responded to a noise complaint on Saturday night to find a parked car with the driver passed out in the front seat.
Officers located a 2000 Dodge pickup truck in the parking area next to a residence in the 3000 block of Mission Drive. The truck was still running and the radio was audible from outside the vehicle, according to Santa Cruz CHP spokeswoman Officer Trista Sharp.
Officer Smith attempted to wake the driver a couple of times by knocking on the window. The driver woke up at least twice then passed out again without responding to Smith, police said.
When Smith attempted to wake the driver once more, the driver awoke a final time, and placed the Dodge into reverse at a high rate of speed before crashing into a residence, police said.
According to CHP, the man shifted into second gear and applied gas in an attempt to flee. While the driver's foot was still on the gas pedal, officers broke the side window of the Dodge. They then pulled him from the vehicle and arrested him under suspicion of DUI.
The man was booked into Santa Cruz County jail and identified as Ancelmo Hernandez, 50, of Santa Cruz.
The collision damaged the residence and severed a gas line, which the fire department and PG&E responded to, Sharp said. There were no injuries reported.
© Copyright 2015 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
