DUI driver crashes into patrol vehicles blocking scene of earlier Moreno Valley crash – Deputy injured

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. — Authorities say a drunk driver who failed to stop for a law enforcement barricade at the scene of a Moreno Valley traffic collision and crashed into two patrol vehicles was arrested for driving under the influence late Saturday evening, Dec. 4. Reports from the scene indicated a deputy assigned to the Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Station was injured in the collision and was transported to an area hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries.

The crash, which left two marked patrol vehicles as well as the sedan that crashed into them heavily damaged, happened at the intersection of Lasselle Street and Camino Quintana, to the front of Rancho Verde High School.

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California Highway Patrol – Riverside officers and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene around 11 p.m. after receiving the report of a traffic collision involving a white Toyota Camry and two parked Riverside County Sheriff’s Department patrol vehicles.

When CHP arrived they found a man being detained at the scene of the crash by deputies, who minutes earlier had been conducting an unrelated traffic collision investigation and providing traffic control around the scene of that crash.

CHP officials survey the damage to one of two sheriff’s patrol vehicles that were struck by an allegedly drunk driver who was later arrested for DUI resulting in injuries. LoudLabs News photos

During their subsequent investigation, CHP determined the driver who caused the collision, Alex Gabriel Ferro Castaneda, 28, had been traveling on Lasselle Street approaching the scene of the earlier crash and failed to see that the roadway was blocked by multiple patrol vehicles.

Both the patrol vehicles the intoxicated driver crashed into had their emergency lights activated and flashing when the collision occurred.

“The Toyota traversed through a cone pattern and collided with two Riverside County Sheriff’s Department patrol vehicles that were positioned to block the roadway,” Quintero explained.

While interviewing Castaneda after the crash, CHP determined he was under the influence of alcohol and arrested him at the scene.

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He was later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on suspicion of DUI causing injury.

Online jail records indicate Castaneda was released within hours of his arrest after posting $50,000 bail or bond and is scheduled to be arraigned at the Riverside Hall of Justice on Feb. 3.

Any witnesses who may have observed the crash or anything leading up to the collision and have not yet provided a statement is encouraged to call the California Highway Patrol’s Accident Investigation Unit at (951) 637-8000. Callers can refer to incident file number F649-840-21 and can remain anonymous.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

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. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s 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 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.