Three Time DUI Offender Apprehended After Crashing into Fence

A man caught driving under the influence was apprehended after a quick-thinking business owner called police to report him.

On Friday around 11am, Petaluma Police received a 911 call from a business owner in the 300 block of Bodega Avenue reporting a drunk driver had run into two metal poles as he was pulling into the parking lot.

The DUI driver, identified as 46-year-old Ross Bracken of Petaluma, made it back onto Bodega Avenue before police units arrived. The vehicle when a short distance in the oncoming EB lane, crossed back into the WB lane on the correct side of the street and stopped in the lane of traffic.

Bracken then backed up in traffic and turned into the driveway of a private residence in the 300 block of Bodega Avenue. The vehicle then collided with a wooden fence next to the driveway. 

When officers arrived they found Bracken extremely intoxicated and unable to stand or walk on his own. A DUI investigation was conducted and he was subsequently arrested for DUI with a blood alcohol level almost five times the legal limit. Bracken was so intoxicated that he had to be transported to the hospital for medical clearance before being booked into Sonoma County Jail. 

Brackens driving history shows two prior convictions for DUI back in 2004 and 2006. The vehicle he was driving was impounded for 15 days due to his prior DUI convictions. The damage sustained by each of the two property owners was minor.