Father, Daughter Suffer Major Injuries In Yountville DUI Hit-and-Run Crash

A father and daughter suffered major injuries in an alleged DUI hit-and-run collision in Yountville on Tuesday night, a California Highway Patrol officer said.

Elmer Alexander Ayala-Duarte, 23, of Vallejo, was driving a 2013 GMC Sierra pickup truck at about 100 mph south on state Highway 29 south of Yount Mill Road in Yountville when he rear-ended a 1996 Dodge Caravan in the south lane around 10:50 p.m. Tuesday, CHP Officer Anna Paulson said.

Both vehicles crossed over the northbound lane and came to rest in a vineyard on the east side of the road, Paulson said. Ayala-Duarte fled on foot east through the vineyard and CHP officers and Napa County sheriff’s deputies with a K-9 unit searched the area, Paulson said.

The K-9 unit found Ayala-Duarte and CHP officers arrested him at 11:12 p.m. on suspicion of hit-and-run, Paulson said. He was found to be intoxicated and also was arrested on suspicion of DUI causing injuries and DUI with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or greater, Paulson said.

The Dodge driver, Louis Bortolussi, 67, of Napa, and his daughter Gina Bortolussi, 38, of Vallejo, suffered major injuries and were taken by ambulance to Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, Paulson said. Paulson said the Sierra pickup struck the Dodge Caravan so hard that the Dodge’s third row of seats were pushed into the backs of the two front seats.

“Fortunately there were no rear passengers in the Dodge Caravan,” Paulson said.

--BAy City News

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