Driver Arrested for DUI, Hit and Run After Highway 101 Rollover Left Passenger Trapped
One person was left trapped in an overturned vehicle after the driver fled the scene according to CHP. [All photos courtesy of the Arcata Fire District]
Alcohol appears to be a factor in the crash, Esselman said.
The rollover was first reported around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. The red vehicle came to rest on the right shoulder, leaving a passenger trapped inside. Arcata Fire responded and stabilized the vehicle before removing the roof to extricate the patient, according to Arcata Fire District.
Firefighters also cut and removed sections of damaged guardrail from the roadway to clear the scene. Approximately 30 feet of guardrail was damaged in the collision.
One occupant was treated at St. Joseph Hospital for a major scalp laceration and reported in stable condition. The condition of the other occupant was not available in CHP logs.
The roadway was fully reopened by approximately 5:45 a.m. The incident was upgraded to a major injury traffic collision at approximately 7:11 a.m.
Earlier: Passenger Left Trapped After Early Morning Rollover on Highway 101 Near Arcata
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Drove by and saw that guardrail yesterday. IT WAS MANGLED!! Hope the occupants will be OK! PLEASE DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE!!!
One occupant. The other left them to die to avoid a DUI. Where have we seen this played out before?
Wait wait don’t tell me Marci Kitchen
It’s time to increase the penalty for hit and run DUI.
I’m not sure the penalties are not severe enough. The problem is proving it in court. All the lawyers need to do is create reasonable doubt.
The one jury case about DUI I have first hand information about the driver who had refused a breathalyzer, even though they failed the field sobriety tests conducted by the police. Which meant taking them to a hospital for a blood test. Since they were way out in the hills, it was over two hours to drive them to a hospital. By that time it was just under the legal limit.
Then the lawyer challenged the accuracy of the test in court because the device had been recalibrated a week later and he alleged that meant it “it was faulty.” Luckily a university science professor was on the jury and explained that “recalibration” didn’t mean they knew it was necessarily defective but could be a normal procedure to ensure accuracy. That was a needed explanation because neither the prosecution nor defense explained what recalibration meant. Nor explained about the dropping of blood alcohol with time. None of it made sense that it meant they weren’t drunk at the time they were driving, but, to people who didn’t have any science background at all, it created doubt. Reasonable or otherwise. Lazy prosecutors and inept defense aside. There were very little facts presented and dubious experts presented by the defense who didn’t explain much of anything.
Then there was one juror who insisted he drove drunk all the time and never had an accident so DUI was meaningless. And it only takes one juror to defeat a guilty verdict. It was a hard slog to get to a verdict and everyone just wanted it to end. And if that professor hadn’t been on the jury, it would have never been possible. And if the defense attorney knew the juror had provided “expert testimony” in the jury foom, he would have had the verdict dismissed. It’s all theater, managed and very little reality.
Most hit and run drivers are not even caught in the first place.
The Kennedy strategy.
Not only don’t drink and drive, but don’t drive under the influence of any substance. There are just as many drivers out there that drive high on weed or other drugs that are just as dangerous because they are distracted and don’t pay attention to their surroundings.
Forgot to put the name in! Remember, innocent until proven guilty. Here’s the screenshot of arrest records:
The driver did their part to uphold the long prevaling Humboldt County community standard for such situations: Flee the scene. Stay klassy, Humboldt.