Suspected Santa Rosa DUI driver rescued, arrested after crashing into pond
By Carlos E. Castañeda
A woman who was allegedly driving under the influence crashed into a pond in Santa Rosa last weekend and was arrested following her rescue, authorities said.
The incident happened on April 19 at Place to Play Park on W. 3rd Street east of Fulton Road. The Santa Rosa Police Department said in a press release that officers responded at about 5 p.m. to reports of a pickup truck traveling at a high rate of speed through the park.
Witnesses told police the truck hit three parked cars before leaving the roadway ending up in the pond on the west side of the park, about 50 feet from the shoreline. When officers arrived, they saw the truck sinking into the water, and a bystander jumped in and was able to bring the driver to the shore, police said.
The driver, identified as 64-year-old Patricia Collinsworth of Sebastopol, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and taken to a local hospital for treatment of unknown injuries. There were no other passengers in the vehicle, police said.
The recovery of the pickup truck was delayed because of the conditions at the time of the crash and the weather in the days that followed, which limited divers’ visibility and prevented them from locating the vehicle, according to police.
After developing a coordinated recovery plan, police along with the Santa Rosa Fire Department’s hazmat team and Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office dive team located the vehicle on Sunday and recovered it without incident. Police said the crews deployed booms to absorb any gasoline and oil as the vehicle was removed from the water.
