SLO County teen driving wrong way on Highway 101 arrested on suspicion of DUI, CHP says
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A 19-year-old driver was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after going the wrong way on Highway 101 near San Miguel early Friday morning, California Highway Patrol said in a news release.
CHP and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office both received phone calls regarding a wrong-way driver traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of Highway 101 around 2:37 a.m. Friday, according to the release.
When officers responded, they saw the vehicle traveling south in northbound lanes on the highway north of Stockdale Road in San Miguel.
The driver, now identified as 19-year-old Manuel Francisco Ortiz of Paso Robles, did not respond to lights and sirens emitted from the officer’s vehicles, CHP said.
“As the driver continued to attempt to drive southbound with the northbound lanes, the CHP officers used the patrol vehicle to implement legal intervention to force the vehicle to a stop,” the release said.
The driver was successfully stopped and both the driver and passenger were detained, CHP said.
Ortiz was arrested on suspicion of charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content above .08%, driving unlicensed and driving the wrong way on a divided highway, according to the release.
He is currently in custody at the San Luis Obispo County Jail, according to the Sheriff’s Office’s “Who’s in Custody” website. CHP said his bail was set at $7,500.
The state has a zero-tolerance policy for underage drivers suspected of driving under the influence.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles must automatically suspend or revoke a driver’s license for any person under 21 who was detained or arrested or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs whose BAC tests above .01% or who refuses to take a BAC test.
