Gilroy
– A San Jose man suspected of drunken driving on Leavesley Road
Saturday night seriously injured another driver when his vehicle
crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a car head-on.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – A San Jose man suspected of drunken driving on Leavesley Road Saturday night seriously injured another driver when his vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a car head-on.
The suspected driver, Ruben Agular, 34, forced another car off the road before crashing his own, then fled the scene, police said. He was soon found by Gilroy police and California Highway Patrol officers at nearby In-N-Out and arrested.
Agular was driving west on Leavesley east of Arroyo Circle about 10:37pm Saturday when his Dodge Caravan veered into oncoming traffic and struck head-on a Nissan Altima driven by a 24-year-old San Jose resident, police said.
Police did not know how fast either vehicle was traveling at the time of the crash.
“Speed is not so much a cause of the collision as much as DUI is,” Sgt. Kurt Svardal said.
The driver of the Altima who was injured in the crash remains hospitalized at Stanford University Medical Center and is being treated for life-threatening head injuries after being airlifted Saturday night, police said. He underwent surgery Sunday morning; his condition was not known at press time.
A passenger in the car was treated and released from Saint Louise Regional Hospital.
Agular apparently tried to continue driving into Gilroy city limits, but had difficulty maintaining control of the van because he lost his left front tire in the collision, Svardal said.
A second vehicle was forced by Agular’s van off the road and into a ditch a couple hundred yards west of the first crash, Svardal said. The 62-year-old driver of that vehicle was not injured. Agular’s van ended up in a ditch, as well. A passenger in the van was not injured, Svardal said.
Agular was arrested and booked into county jail on suspicion of felony driving under the influence and felony hit-and-run. His blood alcohol content was not available at press time.
Anyone with information may contact Gilroy police at 846-0350.
