A drunk driver totaled a brand new police car and sent an
officer and his trainee to the hospital late Saturday night.
Morgan Hill – A drunk driver totaled a brand new police car and sent an officer and his trainee to the hospital late Saturday night.
Though they were not seriously injured in the crash on north Monterey Road, an ambulance transported Officer Josh Norris and Danny Davis, an 18-year-old in the department’s youth explorer program, to Saint Louise Regional Hospital as a precaution after the 11:25pm crash. They were later released.
The crash cut off traffic in both directions along Monterey Road for more than an hour and drew crowds of onlookers for the second time that day. Police closed Oak Glen Plaza earlier in the evening to shoppers as they investigated a possible assault with a deadly weapon. It is unclear if Norris and Davis were continuing the search for suspects when the driver collided with their moving police car.
Norris was driving south on Monterey Road and approaching the intersection of Wright Avenue when a white 1994 Ford Taurus turned left from the side street and began driving on the wrong side of the dividing median, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Armstrong. Norris swerved right but failed to avoid the white sedan, which mangled the tires and left side of the approximately $30,000 patrol car.
Another MHPD officer, acting Cpl. Ken Howard, was nearby, and, as dispatchers quickly notified fire and paramedics and other agencies, he helped chase down Gonzalez and his two passengers who tried to run from the scene.
MHPD Chief Bruce Cumming said Howard was slightly injured detaining the suspects, “typical police officer bumps and bruises,” but did not seek medical attention.
The driver, Antonio Gonzalez, 55, of Morgan Hill was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on felony DUI charges, as well as felony hit and run, Armstrong said. Gonzalez was driving without a license, he added.
David Chavez, 23, of Morgan Hill, was also booked into county jail. He was arrested on suspicion of being drunk in public, alleged possession of a controlled substance, battery of a peace officer and resisting arrest. A taser was used to subdue him. He was treated by paramedics at the scene, transported by ambulance to Regional Medical Center in San Jose and later booked into the jail.
The mangled police car, which rolled out of the garage just three days before, is a Crown Victoria. A new model costs approximately $25,000, and the department spends an additional $5,000 to outfit it for law enforcement duty.
The department had not received a repair estimate by Monday afternoon, said MHPD Cmdr. David Swing, but the car needs to be inspected for frame damage to determine if it is a total loss. However, Cumming said Monday that even if the car could be repaired, he would not trust it to function adequately as a squad car and would not want his officers to ride in a vehicle that he did not feel was safe.
The accident was one of many incidents involving alcohol over the weekend.
According to Cumming, a pickup truck crashed into a light pole at the corner of Llagas Avenue and Hale Avenue, almost toppling the pole.
In two separate incidents Friday night, four other people were arrested on suspicion of being drunk in public.
