DUI driver causes chain reaction crash in Madera

MADERA, Calif (KSEE/KGPE) – Two vehicles were sandwiched together after a speeding drunk driver crashed into them Saturday morning, the California Highway Patrol said.

Officers say they responded to the intersection of Cleveland Avenue and the Highway 99 off-ramp in Madera just after 9 a.m.

A 22-year-old man from Madera was driving a red Honda Accord and stopped for a red light in the left lane eastbound on Cleveland Avenue, just west of the Highway 99 off-ramp. Next to him, a 53-year-old man from Madera driving a white Chevrolet Traverse was also stopped.

Meanwhile, officers say a 26-year-old man from Gilroy was driving a white Chevrolet Equinox southbound on Highway 99 and exiting toward Cleveland Avenue at a high rate of speed. Officers say he collided with the raised median, a traffic control signal, and then struck the left side of the Honda.

According to CHP, the impact pushed the Honda into the left side of the Traverse, causing them both to turn on their sides.

Madera area CHP says the driver of the Equinox immediately fled the scene on foot. After talking to witnesses, officers found him at a nearby business.

Officers say the driver was determined to be under the influence of both alcohol and drugs. He was placed under arrest and booked into the Madera County Jail on suspicion of felony DUI and hit-and-run.

The driver of the Honda was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries; the driver of the Traverse was not injured.