HEMET: Citizens detain alleged DUI hit and run driver after second collision
HEMET — An intoxicated and belligerent man who could barely stand without help was arrested after crashing into a van, fleeing and then crashing again. The incidents and arrest happened Thanksgiving evening, Nov. 23.
Several citizens held an allegedly drunk, hit and run driver on the ground while waiting for officers to arrive at the scene. Gary Rainwater/Hemet Valley Incidents photo
The initial hit and run collision happened on N. Tahquitz Avenue, where the man struck a mini-van before fleeing in a Dodge dually pickup truck. Witnesses who had followed the hit and run driver later pulled the drunken man out of his wrecked truck after he crashed again while attempting to turn from Florida Avenue onto S. Palm Avenue in Hemet.
Witnesses held the combative man on the ground until Hemet police officers arrived and apprehended him.
Officers responded to the scene of the second collision about 6:30 p.m., after witnesses of the first hit and run accident called 911 to report that they were following the fleeing man.
When officials arrived, they found several bystanders holding the man on the ground. A half-consumed bottle of tequila was on the ground near the alleged suspect and officials later found a cold and open can of beer and several empty beer cans inside the man’s truck.
While paramedics evaluated the driver for injuries, officers began investigating the two collisions.
During their investigation officials determined the man, who officials have not publicly identified, was driving southbound on N. Tahquitz Avenue when he plowed into the back of a mini-van near Circle K.
A mini-van was damaged by a hit and run driver who crashed again after fleeing from the first collision. Gary Rainwater/Hemet Valley Incidents photo
After hitting the van the man attempted to flee, at which time he dragged the parked mini-van about twenty feet, damaging it further.
The fleeing driver then headed westbound on Florida Avenue before attempting to turn south onto Palm Avenue. The man failed to negotiate the left turn and crashed up and over the curb in front of Mobil gas station, nearly striking a metal traffic signal pole.
After the second collision the man attempted to flee again; however, several witnesses to both collisions who had been following the fleeing driver physically dragged the man out of his truck and held him on the ground until officers arrived.
Officers attempted to conduct a field sobriety test on the man, who could barely stand without assistance. While being questioned by officers, the hit and run driver argued with and cursed at officers investigating the incident.
Based on the hit and run and the man’s level of intoxication, officers arrested the man for driving under the influence and hit and run. He was later booked into jail.
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Trevor Montgomery, who recently moved from Riverside County to Shasta County, runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 27 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 14 grandchildren.