Redwood City Man Accused of Drunkenly Fleeing Cops, Crashing Into Patrol Car

REDWOOD CITY, CA — A 21-year-old man appeared in court Monday for allegedly fleeing police while intoxicated over the weekend and slamming his gold Lexus into a police patrol car in the process, prosecutors said.

Jose Celestino Medina of Redwood City has been charged with fleeing police, driving under the influence, assault with a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, reckless driving and
driving with a suspended license.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Monday, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

A Redwood City police officer first spotted Medina early Sunday morning speeding at about 80 mph as he got off southbound U.S. Highway 101 at Whipple Avenue. When the officer tried to pull the Lexus over, the driver
sped off and got back on the freeway, prosecutors said.

Another officer spotted the same gold Lexus a short time later, at about 1:30 a.m., driving erratically on Beech Street. When the officer tried to pull the car over, the driver fled again, crashing into a patrol car,
prosecutors said.

The crash caused moderate damage to the driver's side of the patrol car but there were no injuries to the officer or a civilian riding along with him that morning.

Medina kept fleeing in the Lexus, getting back onto Highway 101 but crashing on the off-ramp to Willow Road, according to prosecutors.

Police found Medina slumped over in the driver's seat of the Lexus. A passenger in the car tried to run from the crash scene but was quickly detained and was treated for broken ribs.

Police found an open container of beer in the car and Medina appeared intoxicated, according to prosecutors. He refused to take field sobriety tests but after obtaining a search warrant, police took a blood sample from him.

Medina is set to return to court on Aug. 26 for a preliminary hearing. He remains in custody on $150,000 bail, according to prosecutors.

— By Bay City News Service.