An older man rolled his car over three times while apparently
drunk and racing against another car in north Gilroy, police and
witnesses said.
An older man rolled his car over three times while apparently drunk and racing against another car in north Gilroy, police and witnesses said.
The man, who was about 60 to 65 years old and not identified, was driving a green Honda sedan westbound on Tatum Avenue, between Kern and Wren avenues, about 5:30 p.m., police and witnesses said. The driver was racing another car, a brown or gold older model sedan, witnesses said. The driver also appeared to be intoxicated and not wearing his seatbelt, witnesses said.
About 200 feet from Kern Avenue, the driver swerved right, knocking over a mailbox, then corrected too hard to the left, hitting a fence and a tree, witnesses said. The car then flipped three times, knocking over another mailbox before coming to rest right-side up.
Inside, the driver was passed out and bleeding from his forehead, witnesses said. The front of the vehicle was heavily damaged – the front left tire was punctured and jammed up into the wheel well, the windshield was smashed and glass littered the inside, and the lights were busted out. In addition, the body was crumpled in several places, the back bumper was ripped off, and there was no gas cover or cap.
Meanwhile, the other car, which had passed the wrecked car, tried to continue to Kern Avenue, witnesses said. However, many people in the area were yelling for the driver to stop and trying to block his path, so the driver hung a U-turn, drove into the dirt ditch to the north of the road to skirt the wrecked vehicle, and sped off eastbound. The driver was wearing a red shirt, witnesses said.
The driver was transported to Saint Louise Regional Hospital with critical injuries, a police dispatcher said.
The area is a quiet one, full of families and children, residents said. Near the crash scene, about a dozen goats grazed in a large yard. Dozens of residents stood a few hundred yards away, gawking at the wreck and chatting. The sides of the narrow street were littered with debris – muddied work shirts, a egg crate foam for a bed, plastic containers and wrappers.
The wreck added more debris – glass, plastic, various metal objects and several fluids – to Tatum Avenue. Also, several green jalapeño peppers sat around the car, crushed as a tow truck operator wrestled the wreck onto a flat bed truck.
Inside the car was also a mess, with clothing, an empty Jarritos soda bottle in the back seat, a red gas can propped up by the console, and a length of hose tossed underneath the passenger seat.
An updated story will be posted late Monday afternoon.
