2 noninjury crashes reported on St. Patrick’s night in Stanislaus

It was a fairly quiet St. Patrick’s Day night in terms of DUI arrests and crashes, available reports from Stanislaus County law enforcement agencies indicate.

There were two crashes believed to have been alcohol related, both noninjury.

In the 2800 block of Morrill Road, just east of Roselle Avenue, a driver hit a parked car, flipped his vehicle and fled on foot, said Riverbank Police Services Chief Erin Kiely. The driver then called in a report that he’d been carjacked, but when interviewed by deputies admitted to making that up, Kiely said.

Ernesto Naranjo, 34, was found to have a blood alcohol content at twice the legal limit, Kiely said, and was placed under arrest.

Modesto police Sgt. Gary Crawford, who was on DUI patrol from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., said he heard that there was one DUI-related crash, with no injuries, in the city. He knew of no other DUI arrests or crashes. “The downtown bars were very busy,” he said, “but I saw a lot of taxicabs and Uber drivers.”

Riverbank Police Services oversaw the DUI saturation patrols for the countywide Avoid the 12 program, and Kiely said nothing in watch reports indicated anyone was arrested by patrolling deputies.

Officer Steve Rodriguez, a Turlock Police Department spokesman, said his department had no DUI arrests or crashes Thursday. Dispatchers with the Oakdale and Sonora police departments and the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department also said they knew of no DUI arrests or crashes.

From 7:30 p.m. Friday to 3:30 a.m. Saturday, the Modesto Police Department will have DUI saturation patrols deployed in areas with a high frequency of DUI crashes and arrests.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department will conduct a DUI checkpoint Friday night in the Patterson area, Kiely said.

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 9:44 AM with the headline "2 noninjury crashes reported on St. Patrick’s night in Stanislaus."