Man Arrested for Allegedly Leading Police Pursuit While Under the Influence
Above: Photo of suspect vehicle after pursuit | KCSO
A Kings County man was arrested on suspicion of DUI after a collision and ensuing high-speed pursuit, according to the county Sheriff’s Office.
Shortly before 5 AM on Wednesday, January 11, a deputy on northbound Highway 41 near Elgin Avenue reportedly witnessed, in his rear view mirror, a Honda Civic turn south onto the northbound lane of Highway 41, back up, turn around, and speed north past the deputy at approximately 85 miles per hour.
The deputy chased the Civic all the way to Laguna Avenue, where the driver then braked and turned east, going through a barbed wire fence and into an orchard. At that point, the driver — later identified as 19-year-old Israel Cervantes Gonzales — abandoned the vehicle on foot, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Additional deputies responded to the scene and eventually found Gonzales walking between and orchard and an open field, and took him into custody. Deputies later learned that what the first deputy had seen in his rearview mirror, before the pursuit, had been Gonzales colliding with a semi-truck.
The driver of the truck was not injured, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Gonzales was booked at the Kings County jail on suspicion of evading a peace officer with wanton disregard for safety, resisting arrest, and driving under the influence, with bail set at $25,000.
