Suspected DUI driver with loaded gun crashes into Caltrans truck on closed road, CHP says
The California Highway Patrol arrested a driver who allegedly had a loaded gun in his pickup that crashed into a Caltrans vehicle at a road closure as firefighterscontinued to corral a wildfire in Amador County.
On Wednesday night, Highway 16 was closed, from Ione Road to Old Sacramento Road near Plymouth, because of potential spot fires, Cal Fire officials said. Firefighters were battling the Copper Fire, which had burned 48 acres and was 60% contained as of Thursday morning.
Officers from Amador CHP and East Sacramento CHP were on Highway 16 with a Caltrans crew that was about to move the road closure into Amador County.
A white Dodge Ram pickup was heading east toward the closure, where authorities were directing traffic near their parked vehicles, the Amador CHP announced Thursday.
Once it became obvious Dodge pickup was not going to stop, the officers and the Caltrans crew moved out of the way. The CHP said the pickup then struck a Caltrans vehicle’s passenger side door.
The officers at the scene checked the Dodge driver for injuries and removed him from the pickup. The driver then tried to get back in the Dodge, but the officers stopped him, according to the CHP.
One of the officers then spotted the grip of a pistol sticking out between the driver’s seat and the center console. The CHP said the weapon discovered in the Dodge was a loaded Taurus Judge .410 shotgun pistol.
The officers also found two other pistols with large amounts of ammunition within reach of the driver, according to the CHP.
The driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, along with gun violations and booked at Sacramento County Main Jail. The East Sacramento CHP, which made the arrest, did not have the driver’s name immediately available Thursday afternoon.
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 2:45 PM.
