The Drunken Driving Fiasco that Occurred at Gillespie Last Saturday

Multiple Accidents, Car Drove a Mile Without a Wheel. Speeding and More

At approximately 3:50 AM Sunday (September 28), a vehicle traveling at over 50-60 mph crashed into a white sedan parked on the mountain side of Gillespie on the west side. The driver continued accelerating and collided with a second vehicle — a dark gray Tesla SUV — which was displaced 6 to 9 feet from its original parking position due to the force of the impact.

The suspected drunk driver was reportedly driving a Honda. Upon crashing into the Tesla, the vehicle lost the front right wheel. Despite the damage, the driver attempted to flee the scene. He made a right turn onto Arrellaga Street while dragging exposed chassis metal from the right side of his car. He then turned left onto Villa Avenue, where he lost a headlight at the corner of Valerio and Villa. A neighbor later recovered the headlight.

The driver eventually parked the vehicle near the end of Villa Ave and Islay Street, on the mountain side.

Following this, another small sedan — also reportedly traveling around 50 mph — appeared to be searching for the initial driver, potentially to help him evade police. This second vehicle had a loud muffler and was seen passing through the intersection of Valerio and Gillespie three times between 3:50 and 4:30AM.

I do not have further confirmed information at this time, but it is very likely that additional parked vehicles were damaged before on his way to Gillespie. I suspect he was coming south on Micheltorena. My understanding is that law enforcement eventually got the driver. There was significant property damage, and the situation could have resulted in serious injuries or fatalities. Most importantly, we should not have people be driving like that in our community.