Suspected DUI Driver Fails To Negotiate Roundabout: Petaluma PD

Maggie Fusek
Updated ·1 min read

PETALUMA, CA — A Petaluma man who failed to negotiate a roundabout Thursday night and ended up with his car in a ditch is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol, police said.

The driver, identified as 21-year-old Laurentino Vasquez-Chavez, was reportedly going over the speed limit as he got close to the roundabout at the intersection of Corona Road and Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Petaluma police Sgt. Ryan Suhrke said.

Instead of going through the roundabout, Chavez drove over the curb and hit street signs and a mailbox before landing his car in a nearby ditch, Suhrke said.

When officers responded to the intersection at 8:16 p.m., Chavez's car was inoperable.

"Officers observed signs of alcohol intoxication coming from Chavez, administered field sobriety tests and determined he had been operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol," Suhrke said. "He was arrested and later transported to the Sonoma County Jail for DUI."

Chavez was not injured in the collision, nor was anyone else, police said.

This article originally appeared on the Petaluma Patch