CHP Finds Suspected DUI Driver Asleep In Fast Lane On Highway 101 In San Rafael
SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF) -- A New Mexico man was arrested on suspicion of DUI after he was found sleeping in his car that straddled the two left lanes of U.S. Highway 101 in San Rafael early Thursday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The engine of the 2014 Ford Focus was running, the automatic transmission was in drive and Michael Morgan, 29, of Crownpoint, New Mexico, had his foot on the brake when a U.S. Park police officer came upon the scene on northbound Highway 101 north of Manuel T. Freitas Parkway around 3:10 a.m., CHP Officer Andrew Barclay said.
Four CHP officers arrived to find Morgan asleep at the wheel and a right front passenger also sound asleep. The men were traveling from San Rafael to Sacramento, Barclay said.
When the CHP officers tried to wake Morgan up, he took his foot off of the brake and began driving forward. After he was told several times to stop, Morgan stopped the Ford and put it in park, Barclay said. He was then put in a patrol car and taken off of the freeway.
The officers tried to rouse the extremely intoxicated passenger with verbal commands and a sternum rub, but they could not awaken him. An officer then drove the Ford off of the freeway and called paramedics, Barclay said.
The passenger finally woke up and was taken by ambulance to a hospital because of his high level of intoxication, Barclay said.
Morgan was arrested on suspicion of DUI after he was questioned by the officers. He was booked into Marin County Jail on suspicion of misdemeanor counts of DUI and DUI with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or greater.
Barclay said the CHP encounters drivers who fall asleep at stop signs but rarely on traffic lanes of freeways.
"It's remarkable no one hit them," he said.
Barclay also said the bizarre incident is a reminder to drivers to be alert for drunken drivers during the holiday season.
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