CHP: Drunk Driver Gets Stuck on Golden Gate Sidewalk

Marin CHP officers are investigating a suspected DUI crash which happened when a man got stuck on the Golden Gate Bridge— in the sidewalk.

The Ford Mustang driven by an alleged drunk driver that became wedged on the west sidewalk of the bridge Tuesday morning has since been removed, a bridge spokeswoman said.

The car was lifted by a crane and placed on a flatbed truck, Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District spokeswoman Priya David Clemens said.

Traffic on both sides of the bridge was briefly stopped while the Mustang was hoisted onto the truck, Clemens said.

“It took about five minutes,” she said.

California Highway Patrol officials said 22-year-old Daniel Soto of San Francisco was driving the Mustang south when he drove onto the wide area of the west sidewalk near the north anchorage at 5:13 a.m.

Soto kept driving until the car became wedged between the railing and anchorage where the sidewalk narrows, CHP Officer Andrew Barclay said.

“Although we have not yet determined the speed of the vehicle at the time of the collision, it was fast enough to cause the airbags to deploy when it became wedged,” Barclay said. “Further investigation at the scene revealed that Soto had driven through a parking lot, onto a raised curb, through a 3 foot tall metal pole, through a metal security gate, and then entered the sidewalk of the bridge.”

Soto was arrested on suspicion of DUI. He suffered minor injuries and was taken to Marin General Hospital, Barclay said.

Clemens said bridge crews covered the blue Mustang with a tarp to help prevent drivers from slowing down to look at it.

Bridge traffic did slow because of the rainy weather but was moving smoothly again as of around 10:30 a.m.

“Fortunately, the west sidewalk of the bridge, which is commonly traversed by bicyclists, was not open at the time and there were no pedestrians on that portion of the span,” Barclay said.

— Bay City News Service contributed to this report.