Tire Propelled Into Business In DUI Hit-And-Run: Petaluma Police

PETALUMA, CA — A tire jarred loose in a hit-and-run crash on Friday rolled 150 feet and smashed through the window of a Petaluma business, causing major damage, police said Saturday. An occupant of the crashed SUV was found hiding in the area and arrested on suspicion of public intoxication after the collision, which was reported shortly after 1 a.m. Friday in the 1400 block of North McDowell Extension, according to police.

No injuries were reported. The SUV, a white 2013 Cadillac Escalade, had been pursued earlier
for speeding and reckless driving by Rohnert Park police, but the chase was called off. The Escalade was last seen taking the U.S. Highway 101 exit and heading north on Old Redwood Highway.

Petaluma police checking the 1400 block of North McDowell found the Escalade with major damage, but nobody inside.

About the same time, an alarm call came from a business nearby, where a tire from the SUV had apparently traveled more than 150 feet. The tire bounced through the front window of the business and finally stopped at a wall inside, causing major damage, police said.

The crash was one of six drunken driving crashes and another three late-night hit-and-run collisions investigated over the past week in Petaluma, officials said.

Late night hit-and-run collisions are usually suspected to be DUI drivers, police said.

DUI arrest statistics in Petaluma are about the same as last year with more than 100 arrests through early June, police said.

— Bay City News Service