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A drunk driver couldn’t negotiate this curve in Vacaville and slammed his car into the telephone pole, injuring two passengers.

Police arrested a 21-year-old man for a drunk driving accident that seriously injured two passengers Monday night in Vacaville. Police were looking for a third passenger who left the scene.

•   A group of friends were drinking in a local park. One of them, who was deemed to be ‘least intoxicated,’ drove them home.

•   The driver failed to negotiate a curve and slammed the car into a telephone pole.

•   Two of the passengers were hospitalized with major injuries. The other one left the scene.

•   The 21-year-old driver was arrested on charges of felony drunk driving causing injury and driving on a suspended license.

 The car accident occurred at about 11 p.m., according to a news report in the Vacaville Reporter.

Police said 21-year-old Vacaville resident Anthony Barragan-Sullivan had been drinking with friends in a park before the accident.

Barragan-Sullivan got behind the wheel of the car, which belonged to one of the passengers, to drive everyone home ”because he was believed to be the least intoxicated,” police said.

He was unable to negotiate a curve on Dobbins Street near Deodora Street (see photo). The car hit the curb and slammed into a telephone pole, knocking out power to the area.

A passenger who had been riding in the front seat got out of the car and left the scene. The two back seat passengers were trapped inside the wrecked vehicle.

Barragan-Sullivan called police and remained at the scene. Emergency crews had to cut away part of the vehicle to extricate the two trapped women, whose names were not released.

Both of the women suffered major injuries and were hospitalized. One of them was listed in serious condition and the other was listed in stable condition, police told the Reporter. No further information about the nature of their injuries was released.

Barragan-Sullivan was arrested at the scene and then taken to a hospital to be seen by a doctor. Once he was medically cleared, he was booked into Solano County Jail and charged with driving on a suspended driver’s license and felony driving under the influence, resulting in injury.

Police were still looking for the woman who was riding in the front seat in order to ask her about the accident.

Vacaville Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

A police officer was seriously injured when he was hit by a drunk driver in San Diego.

A San Diego police officer remains hospitalized with major injuries after his vehicle was broadsided early Sunday morning by a drunk driver who ran a red light at Mission Gorge Road in Santee.

•    A 21-year-old drunk driver exited a highway at high speed and ran a red light at the end of the exit.

•    The drunk driver T-boned a San Diego Police Department patrol car on the driver’s side, seriously injuring a 24-year-old officer.

•    The officer had to be extricated from his vehicle with the Jaws of Life. He suffered major injuries and required multiple surgeries.

•    The drunk driver’s blood alcohol level was almost three times the legal limit. 

The drunk driving accident occurred at about 2:30 a.m., according to an NBC News report.

San Diego Police Department Lt. Jim Walker said an on-duty police officer, later identified as 24-year-old Travis Betley, was returning to his beat after dropping off a prisoner at Las Colinas Detention Facility at the time of the accident.

Walker said 21-year-old Lake Forest (Orange County) resident Samuel Sullivan exited State Route 125 at a high rate of speed and ran the red light at the end of the exit, on Mission Gorge Road.

Sullivan’s red Toyota pickup truck slammed into the driver-side door of Betley’s patrol car. The high-speed impact knocked both vehicles off of the road.

Betley was trapped in his vehicle. It took emergency personnel almost 45 minutes to extricate him, using the Jaws of Life. The young officer suffered multiple injuries, including a broken leg and internal injuries. He was expected to undergo several surgeries that could prevent him from returning to work for up to a year, according to the NBC report.

Sullivan, who admitted he had been drinking, was arrested at the scene. He was treated for minor injuries and booked into jail.

UPDATE | January 7: Sullivan pleaded not guilty to felony drunk driving charges in relation to the accident. Deputy District Attorney James Romo said Sullivan’s blood alcohol level at the time of the accident was 0.22, almost three times the legal limit. He faces up to six years in prison if he is convicted, Romo said. [Source:  CBS Channel 8 News.]

San Diego Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Two Caltrans workers were killed on the job by drunk drivers on I-405 in Torrance. (Photo: KPCC News)

Two Caltrans workers were killed on the job early Sunday morning when two drunk drivers crashed and then plowed into a construction zone on Interstate 405 in Torrance.

•    A drunk driver rear-ended another drunk driver who had slowed down for a Caltrans construction zone on the freeway.

•   One of the cars spun out and hit three Caltrans workers. 

•  Two of the workers died and the third was hospitalized with serious injuries.

•   Both drunk drivers were arrested and could face involuntary manslaughter charges, police said.

The fatal accident occurred on the northbound side of I-405 — the San Diego Freeway — at about 3:35 a.m., according to a report in the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

California Highway Patrol Officer Dion Conley said the two vehicles involved were a black Lexus RX-350 SUV driven by 43-year-old Stephen Christopher Caserta of Playa Vista and a blue Ford Explorer driven by 23-year-old Yocio Jonathan Gomez of Norwalk.

There were were the only two lanes open at the time, due to freeway construction. The area was well-lit with several signs and traffic cones marking the Caltrans construction zone, Conley said.

Caserta saw the construction zone and was slowing down, CHP Officer Ed Jacobs told the Press-Telegram.  Gomez failed to slow down and slammed into the Lexus SUV from behind.

The impact forced both vehicles into the construction area. The Lexus spun out control and hit three Caltrans workers. Gomez’s car rolled over and landed upside-down.

Two of the Caltrans workers — 56-year-old Ramon Lopez of Chino Hills and 58-year-old Ricardo Zamora of Winchester — died at the scene. The third worker, whose name was not immediately released, was taken to Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center in Harbor City to be treated for minor to moderate injuries, Conley said.

Both Caserta and Gomez suffered minor lacerations and complained of back and neck pain. They were taken to hospitals and arrested on drunk driving charges. Officials said they could face involuntary manslaughter charges as well.

Torrance Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented drunk driving accident victims and their families for more than 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Police arrested a man for drunk driving after a fatal car accident on Highway 60 in Diamond Bar.

Police arrested a man for a fatal drunk driving accident Sunday on Highway 60 in Diamond Bar.

•   Traffic slowed to less than 15 mph on the freeway when two lanes were closed.

•   A drunk driver came speeding down the middle lane in a BMW and plowed into a Ford in front of him, slamming the car into two other vehicles.

•   The 23-year-old driver in the Ford was killed.

•   The drunk driver was arrested at the scene and locked up in the county jail.

The deadly four-car  freeway crash occurred shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday, according to a report in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

California Highway Patrol officers said 23-year old Diamond Bar resident George Derkrikorian was driving a 2001 Ford eastbound in the middle lane of the freeway, west of Brea Canyon Road.

Traffic had slowed for a road closure and both the carpool and far left lanes were closed, according to a Diamond Bar Patch news report. Ford was traveling at about 15 mph, behind a 2001 Chevrolet that had slowed to around 5 mph, CHP officers said.

Officers said 32-year-old  Sheng-Ting Shih of Walnut came speeding down the middle lane in a 2012 BMW and plowed into the rear of Derkrikorian’s vehicle. The impact slammed the Ford into both the Chevy in front of it and a Toyota to its left, the CHP reported.

Deirkarkourian died at the scene.

Shih’s passenger,30-year-old  Nancy Yinan Lane of Chino Hills, appeared to be injured and was taken to San Dimas Community Hospital.

Police arrested Shih at the scene. He was booked into the Los Angeles County Jail on drunk driving charges. He remained in jail in lieu of $200,000 bail. Sheriff’s records indicate that Shih’s first court appearance was set for Tuesday in Pomona, according to a Walnut Patch news report.

The crash forced four eastbound lanes to be closed for about two hours.

Fatal Drunk Driving Accident Statistics

Almost 11,000 people die every year in drunk driving car accidents on U.S. roads, according to federal government statistics published by the non-profit group Alcohol Alert.  Drunk driving deaths account for more than a third of all U.S. traffic fatalities.

Many people believe drunk drivers fare better than their victims on the road, but that is not true. Almost two-thirds of those who are killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes are drunk drivers.

Drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes are typically not first-time offenders. Statistics show they are eight times more likely to have a prior drunk driving conviction than other drivers involved in fatal accidents.

More than half of drunk drivers involved in fatal accidents have levels of alcohol in their blood that are twice the legal limit — or more.

Diamond Bar Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented drunk driving accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.