California Highway Patrol officers arrested a man they suspected was unconscious and under the influence while behind the steering wheel of his sedan — a little over a quarter-mile from the CHP Newhall-area Office.
Nearly within eyesight of their station, CHP officers noticed a 2008 white Volkswagen Jetta stopped well beyond the limit line of a traffic signal at the intersection of Henry Mayo Drive and The Old Road.
“We saw a vehicle stationary,” said Officer Josh Greengard of the California HIghway Patrol Newhall Station. “It was probably 30 or 40 feet behind the limit line and the driver was passed out behind the wheel.”
“And we determined the guy was under the influence of some sort of drug,” Greengard added.
They determined later that the drug they believed the suspect to be under the influence of was likely methamphetamine, because after searching the vehicle, officers also discovered paraphernalia.
“And then the vehicle also came back stolen,” said Greengard. “And on top of that, he had stolen property in his possession, like other peoples’ credit cards.”
Greengard said he saw on the scene a “decent handful” of stolen cards.
After an on-site evaluation, the suspect, a 25-year-old man from Wasco, was transported and booked at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. He was arrested in lieu of $25,000 bail.
