After an alcohol-involved head-on collision Thursday on Central
Avenue sent two people to the hospital, one driver tried to flee
the scene but was caught and arrested by police.
After an alcohol-involved head-on collision Thursday on Central Avenue sent two people to the hospital, one driver tried to flee the scene but was caught and arrested by police.
Around 5 p.m., Hollister resident Alex Sandoval, 22, collided with Hollister resident Crystal Valenzuela, 19, near the 1100 block of Central Avenue, causing minor injuries to both drivers and major damage to the front portions of both vehicles.
No passengers were in either car.
Sandoval, who was driving on a suspended license, was intoxicated at the time of the accident and had stolen the Plymouth Neon he was driving, said Hollister Police Sgt. Carlos Reynoso.
Directly after the collision, residents of 1041 Central Ave. who heard it ran outside and tried helping Sandoval out of his car.
Limping from his injuries, he ran through a residence and was later found hiding in a dog house in the backyard, Sgt. Reynoso said.
Before the collision Sandoval had sped past Hollister resident Jose Reynoso, who said he believed he was speeding through the neighborhood at about 40 mph.
Jose Reynoso had been halted at a stop sign near Calaveras School, when the man passed him on the right side and ran the stop sign, he said.
“When he did that I felt like something was going to happen, and I knew it would be bad,” he said. “It was too bad somebody got injured.”
Valenzuela was still sitting in her Grand Am, which had started smoking, said Central Avenue resident Stephanie Oerman, who heard the accident.
Afraid that the car might catch on fire, Oerman and her mother tried to help her before medical assistance arrived, she said.
“We opened her door and she was having trouble breathing, so we pulled the seatbelt away from her body until (paramedics) could get her out and put her on a stretcher,” Oerman said.
Sandoval suffered minor injuries, and Valenzuela complained of pain to the chest and torso, which could have resulted from the airbag deployment and seatbelt, Sgt. Reynoso said.
Both Sandoval and Valenzuela were treated at Hazel Hawkins Hospital for their injuries and released, he said.
Sandoval was arrested for felony Driving Under the Influence, felony hit and run, car theft and driving under a suspended license.
He is currently being held at the San Benito County Jail with bail in lieu of $141,000.
