More than a dozen drivers were arrested in the Santa Clarita Valley over the Memorial Day weekend, including a “confused” motorist who allegedly backed into a local sheriff deputy’s cruiser in a drive-through line.
Between Friday and Monday, deputies with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and officers of the California Highway Patrol’s Newhall Station arrested five and nine people respectively, all suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station, posted the circumstances of one particular arrest on the sheriff’s Facebook page.
“Many ask us after a holiday weekend, did you arrest any drunk drivers?
“And the answer is yes,—we arrested a few,” Miller wrote in her post. “One of the DUI arrests occurred in the middle of the night on Saturday.
“The suspected drunk driver made a turn into the Del Taco drive-thru on Bouquet Canyon Road, and the deputy came up right behind him in the drive-thru line and turned his light on, but the driver was oblivious,” she said.
He then asked the driver to pull over and stop, and the confused driver moved forward and then started to back up in the direction of the deputy’s car, she said.
The deputy alerted him with his air horn that he was getting too close but that didn’t work — he still bumped the deputy’s car anyway.
The man, in his 20s, was arrested on suspicion of DUI.
CHP Officer Josh Greengard, reflecting on the nine arrests made by CHP this past weekend, said the consequences are significant.
“The nine individuals that we’re arrested over the holiday weekend may have long-term consequences,” he told The Signal Tuesday.
“ A DUI stays on your record for 10 years, this includes your DMV record and may increase vehicle insurance rates,” he said. “Nowadays, there is really no excuse to do such a dangerous act, we have Lyft, Uber, or a taxi services, or designate a sober driver.”
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