Suspected DUI Driver Plows Through SMART Fence In Petaluma: Police

PETALUMA, CA — A suspected DUI driver was arrested early Monday in Petaluma after he crashed through a chain-link fence at a SMART parking lot, police said.

A witness called the Petaluma Police Department shortly at 1:21 a.m. Monday to report the collision on East Washington Street near the intersection of Copeland Street. The witness saw the car crash into the fence.

"The driver, later identified as Gaudencio Cortes-Chavez, appeared to be under the influence and was having a difficult time standing up," Acting Petaluma police Sergeant Chris Ricci said in a news release.

Officers were on scene within minutes and when they spoke with Cortes-Chavez he admitted to drinking alcohol before driving and to colliding with the fence, Ricci said.

After a series of field sobriety tests, Cortes-Chavez, a 31-year-old Rohnert Park resident, was placed under arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a license, according to police.

Cortes-Chavez provided an evidentiary breath sample which revealed his blood-alcohol content was three-and-a-half times the legal limit, Ricci said.

Cortes-Chavez, who was not injured in the crash, was later booked in the Sonoma County jail.