HEMET: DUI suspect who fled after crashing into hydrant, wall arrested
HEMET — A man who plowed into a fire hydrant before crashing through a home’s chain-link fence and brick wall was apprehended after fleeing from the scene of the crash, Sunday afternoon, Feb. 25. In spite of fleeing and attempting to alter his appearance, officers were not fooled and arrested the subject for DUI, hit and run and other charges.
Robert Carter/Public Safety Incidents photo
City of Hemet Police and Fire Departments along with other emergency first responders were dispatched to the intersection of Stetson Avenue and S. Santa Fe Street in Hemet, just before 12:30 p.m., after several people called 911 to report the crash. According to 911 callers, the driver fled from the scene after the wreck and a huge geyser of water was spraying into the air.
When police and fire personnel arrived at the scene of the crash, they found a heavily damaged, silver Chevy sedan in the back yard of a private residence.
Broken bricks and chunks of concrete, some of which weighed as much as 10 pounds and were launched 40 to 50 feet from the force of the impact, were scattered across the back yard and on top of the wrecked car. Additionally, about 40 feet of ruined chain-link fence was wrapped around and underneath the vehicle.
A 20 to 30-foot geyser of water from the destroyed fire hydrant was spraying into the air and the stunned homeowner and crowds of area residents and onlookers were watching all the law enforcement and fire activity from all four corners of the intersection.
While firefighters worked to turn off the water flow to the sheared hydrant, officers gathered information about the man who fled and began searching the area. They eventually located the man about a half-mile away in the area of Thornton Avenue and Buena Vista Street. Despite changing his clothing, officers recognized the man based on the descriptions provided by witnesses and detained him for further investigation.
Although it was not immediately known how fast the vehicle was traveling when it crashed into the fire hydrant, fence and wall, the posted speed limit in the area is 25 mph.
Traffic Team officers who investigated the crash had the driver perform a series of field sobriety tests – which he failed – and they arrested him without further incident. He was eventually transported to Hemet Jail where a blood nurse had been summoned to draw his blood to determine his level of intoxication.
An officer speaks to a homeowner after a reckless and drunk driver plowed through the victim’s chain-link fence and wall, as well as a nearby fire hydrant. Gary Rainwater/Hemet Valley Incidents photo
One motorist who had been on his way home from church when he saw the wreck later described what he had witnessed.
The man, who did not identify himself, explained he had been traveling westbound and was stopped for a red light at the intersection of Stetson and San Jacinto Avenues. While he was waiting for the light to change, he began to hear a vehicle approaching at high speed.
“The light had just turned green and I could hear him coming on the left-hand side and then he flew by me,” he explained. “I’m guessing 75 (mph) easy.”
“Then cut cut in front of the guy in front of me abruptly – towards the right side of the road – and as he was coming across to get back to the left, you could see the rear-end of the car kind of lose traction and then he just shot straight across into the fire hydrant and wall.”
“I have no idea why he was going that fast,” said the witness. “You just don’t see people passing on the left like that, that fast. It was really scary.”
There were no reported injuries related to the hit and run crash.
Officials have not yet released any information regarding the incident or arrest and their investigation is ongoing.
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Robert Carter/Pubic Safety Incidents video
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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.