3 DUI Arrests Made In Petaluma; Crash Into Median Investigated

PETALUMA, CA — The Petaluma Police Department had extra officers on duty Saturday night and early Sunday morning proactively searching for impaired and reckless drivers and responded to several calls related to such incidents over the Halloween weekend.

At least three drivers were arrested on suspicion of DUI, and an investigation was continuing into a driver who collided with a cement center median and ran over a chain-link fence, then landed on the train tracks, police said.

The first arrest happened around 9:30 p.m. Saturday when officers responded to a report of a wrong-way driver who sideswiped an oncoming car in the 100 block of Kentucky Street.

The victim exchanged information with the other driver and called police after leaving the scene because she believed the other driver was possibly intoxicated, police said.

Officers found the suspected impaired driver was nearby and noticed she was displaying objective signs of alcohol intoxication, police said. When an investigation revealed the driver's blood-alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit, she was arrested and booked into Sonoma County jail.

The next arrest took place around 10:30 p.m. when a patrol officer saw a black Chevy Camaro going over 80 mph on Lakeville Street near U.S. Highway 101. The officers watched as the driver passed other cars, at times driving into oncoming traffic. The reckless driving continued onto Baywood Drive, where the suspect eventually yielded to the officer.

Police determined the Oakland man was driving with too many people in his car and his driver's license was suspended because of a prior DUI arrest. The Camaro was impounded and he was arrested on suspicion of reckless driving and driving with a suspended driver's license, police said.

The third arrest happened shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday when an officer saw a driver rapidly leave the downtown area at unsafe speeds, police said.

When the officer stopped the driver on suspicion of a vehicle code violation, the Santa Rosa woman displayed objective signs of alcohol intoxication, police said.

When a DUI investigation revealed she was under the influence of alcohol, the woman was arrested and her car was towed from the scene, police said.

In a fourth incident, Petaluma officers responded around 1:20 a.m. Sunday to a crash near the intersection of Lakeville and East D streets, where witnesses said a car was speeding and collided with the cement center island of Lakeville Street.

The car then careened over a chain-link fence and continue to travel on the train tracks for over 100 feet before it came to a stop.

The driver was not intoxicated but the crash remained under investigation and speed was suspected as a factor, police said.