Santa Monica police arrested a man for crashing into the rear of another vehicle while under the influence of alcohol on Wednesday, Dec. 30.
Officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were called out to the 2200 block of 20th St. in order to assist a Public Services Officer who was at the scene of a traffic accident that displayed suspicious circumstances.
Upon arrival at the scene of the accident the officers spoke with an individual who had been involved in the accident, a 51-year-old Los Angeles resident, who told them that he had driven into the back of another vehicle and that he did not have a valid driver’s license.
The officers asked this man why he had driven into the rear of the other vehicle and he said that he had done that due to the fact that there did not appear to be a safe place in the area where he could park his car.
The officers became suspicious after the man had told them why he had hit the other vehicle and took a closer look at this man.
The officers noticed that this man had bloodshot eyes, was swaying from side to side and also that he had a strong odor of alcohol emanating from his breath and his person.
The officers then arrested this man and he was later charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, felony hit and run, and driving a motor vehicle without a license. Bail was set at $100,000.
Editor’s Note: These reports are part of a regular police coverage series entitled “Alert Police Blotter” (APB), which injects some minor editorial into certain police activities in Santa Monica. Not all of The Mirror’s coverage of incidents involving police are portrayed in this manner. More serious crimes and police-related activities are regularly reported without editorial in the pages of the Santa Monica Mirror and its website, smmirror.com.
