Suspected DUI driver arrested after crashing in Berkeley twice
The driver injured a motorist in one collision and then crashed into a pole in front of police, authorities said.
Berkeley police arrested a suspected intoxicated driver who crashed twice Friday morning within just 2 miles, authorities report.
The driver injured a motorist in the first collision and then crashed into a pole in front of police, according to BPD.
The incident began Friday when police say the the driver rear-ended one car, which then struck a second vehicle, at a stoplight on westbound Alcatraz Avenue at Sacramento Street.
According to police, the driver stopped to exchange information with the other motorists but left before officers arrived at about 11 a.m.
Witnesses to the crash told BPD it appeared he "may have been impaired."
Berkeley police began looking for the man who left and spotted his 2002 Toyota Tacoma heading north on Sacramento Street near University Avenue a few minutes later, authorities said.
When officers tried to stop him, he crashed into a power pole as he pulled over to the curb, according to police.
Read more about traffic safety in Berkeley.
A reader asked TBS for details after seeing police cruisers blocking Sacramento at University at about 11:30 a.m. while "many people were exiting the [7-Eleven] store."
Officers ultimately arrested the driver following a series of field sobriety tests, on suspicion of DUI causing bodily injury, in connection with neck and back pain reported by one of the other drivers, BPD said.
He also was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription after police found an unprescribed Xanax pill during a search, police said.
As of this week, the driver, who is 54 and lives in San Francisco, is no longer in custody, according to available records. His next court date was not posted.
As of publication time, no charges had been filed. That process generally takes longer when defendants are out of custody.
Update, Dec. 9: The driver was ultimately charged with two misdemeanors. TBS removed his name by request because the case was not pursued as a felony.
