Crime & Safety
High Speed Chase in Rohnert Park Results in DUI Arrest, Pot Seizure
A black Saturn ran a red light on Redwood Drive, then traveled west on Millbrae Avenue at 75 mph before it ran off the road and went into a ditch.
Rohnert Park police arrested a Nevada City man for DUI and evading police on Wednesday night after a car chase that ended when the man's vehicle crashed into a ditch.
Officers began following a speeding black Saturn east on Golf Course Drive at 11:08 p.m., Lt. Jeff Taylor said.
The Saturn ran a red light on Redwood Drive, then traveled west on Millbrae Avenue at 75 mph before it ran off the road and went into a ditch between Langner and Whistler avenues, according to Taylor.
The Saturn rolled several times, knocked over a power pole and went through a fence, Taylor said. It came to rest on its passenger side in the ditch, and the driver, identified as 42-year-old Erik Terko of Nevada City, crawled out of the car through the broken rear window.
Terko was determined to be under the influence of alcohol and he was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of facial abrasions.
Officers found 3 pounds of marijuana in the Saturn, Taylor said. Terko told the officers he had been drinking alcohol at the Graton Resort and Casino, and fled because he had marijuana in the car, Taylor said.
He was booked into Sonoma County Jail for DUI and evading police.
PG&E responded to remove the downed power lines and install a new pole, and a resident who lives near where the Saturn crashed arrived to secure livestock so they would not escape through the broken fence.
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