An intoxicated Santa Cruz man driving a Tesla sedan nearly jumped Coyote Creek in north Morgan Hill this past weekend, according to police.
About 3:45am Jan. 13, police responded to a single-vehicle accident near the intersection of Cochrane Road and Malaguerra Drive, Morgan Hill Police Sgt. Troy Hoefling said.
A 2017 Tesla Model 3 was traveling eastbound on Cochrane Road when the driver “failed to recognize” that the road took a sharp right turn at the intersection of Malaguerra Drive, just in front of Coyote Creek, Hoefling said.
As a result, the Tesla continued straight off the east shoulder of Cochrane Road, into a street sign and a tree, Hoefling said. The vehicle came to rest about 40 feet off the roadway, partially submerged in Coyote Creek.
The driver, Colin Flynn, 38 of Santa Cruz, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, police said. He was not injured in the accident.
Flynn initially told officers at the scene that he had swerved to avoid a deer, according to a post on the MHPD Facebook page. Police transported him to the Morgan Hill Police station, where he refused to provide a blood sample to test his blood alcohol content. Officers later obtained a search warrant, with which Flynn eventually complied, according to police.
The vehicle has been removed from the crash site.
Hoefling noted that emergency personnel who responded to the accident had to be cautious of the fact that the Tesla is an electric vehicle, with batteries that could spill hazardous waste into the creek if damaged, or pose a risk of electrocution. However, such risks did not materialize in this incident.
