Driver Accused Of Hit-And-Run, DUI, Resisting Arrest: Petaluma PD

PETALUMA, CA — A Petaluma man is accused of felony hit-and-run and other crimes after he reportedly hit two cars Sunday afternoon on Petaluma Boulevard North at the on-ramp to U.S. Highway 101 South, then took off, according to a Petaluma Police Department news release. The incident was first reported at 4:02 p.m. Sunday as a three-car collision, Petaluma police Lt. Ed Crosby said.

"A gold Nissan Sentra struck two other cars that had just been in a collision at that location," Crosby said. "The driver of the gold Nissan acted erratically upon contact by the driver/occupants of the other vehicles and fled the scene in the Nissan, leaving a license plate behind."

A witness briefly followed the gold Nissan as the driver — later identified by police as Flyn Austin Nichol, 35, of Petaluma — turned onto Skillman Lane from Petaluma Boulevard North, Crosby said.

When officers found the Nissan in the 400 block of Skillman, Nichol got out of the car and ran off, the lieutenant said.

As officers caught up with Nichol nearby in the 200 block of Skillman, Nichol "resisted arrest and ultimately had to be placed in a 'WRAP' safe-restraint system to prevent him from fighting with officers or harming himself," Crosby said.

Once successfully in custody, Nichol was taken to Sonoma County jail where he was booked on suspicion of DUI, felony hit-and-run and resisting arrest, the lieutenant said.

A driver of one of the other cars involved in the collision complained of pain and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment, according to Petaluma police.

Jail records Monday indicated Nichol has since been released from custody.