CHP Says Dad Drunk Driving With 4 Year Old Daughter On Christmas
WINDSOR (CBS SF) -- A father who was allegedly three times the legal drinking limit was arrested Wednesday morning in Windsor after crashing his car with his 4-year-old daughter riding inside, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officers responded to a report of a crash on northbound U.S. Highway 101, just north of Shiloh Road, at about 11 a.m., the CHP said.
An investigation revealed that Rodrigo Raul Reyes, 23, of Santa Rosa, had picked up his 4-year-old daughter from his estranged girlfriend for a visitation on Christmas Day, according to the CHP.
Reyes placed his daughter in a seatbelt, but not a child safety seat that is required by law, the CHP said. The CHP said Reyes drove his Honda Civic on northbound Highway 101, at about 70 mph, when he made a sudden right turn and lost control of his car.
The car traveled off the freeway, through a fence and rolled over onto Hembree Lane before coming to rest after hitting a tree, the CHP said.
Reyes then extricated himself and his daughter from the car and attempted to flee across the freeway. Witnesses detained Reyes and removed his daughter from his grasp until authorities arrived, according to the CHP.
Both Reyes and his daughter were transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for minor injuries.
Officers at the scene conducted a DUI investigation and estimated Reyes was more than three times the legal limit, the CHP said.
After Reyes was released from the hospital, he was booked into jail on suspicion of felony DUI, hit-and-run, and child endangerment. The young girl was released into her mother's custody.
Windsor police assisted with the investigation.
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