DUI arrest of driver in Turlock crash that badly hurt sheriff’s deputy on motorcycle
A Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputy on a motorcycle was badly injured in a crash Thursday morning at the intersection of North Tully Road and West Main Street in Turlock, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The other motorist involved, a 33-year-old Turlock man who was behind the wheel of a pickup, has been arrested on suspicion of DUI.
The collision occurred about 6:49 a.m. CHP Modesto area spokesman Officer Thomas Olsen said the deputy — identified by Sheriff Jeff Dirkse as Caleb Collins, a five-year veteran of the department — was westbound on Main approaching Tully and the Ford pickup was eastbound approaching the intersection.
The truck turned left directly into the path of the deputy, who was thrown from his motorcycle, Olsen said. Collins was taken to a local trauma center for treatment of his injuries. Sheriff Jeff Dirkse went to the scene of the crash and said his deputy, who is assigned to Patterson Police Services, was in stable condition but his situation remained “very iffy.”
Olsen said a DUI evaluation was conducted at the scene and driver Davis Arthur Rolland Buhrmann was arrested. Buhrmann, who was uninjured, remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, Olsen said.
The CHP Central Division’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team was up from Fresno to conduct the investigation.
Stanislaus has four deputies who ride motorcycles, Dirkse said. All work in cities that contract with the county for police services. “Patterson has two and Riverbank has two,” he said.
The charges Buhrmann faces, Olsen said, are DUI causing injury, DUI under the combined influence of alcohol and a drug, and DUI with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or more.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article included a video with a headline incorrectly stating the deputy had been killed.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 7:38 AM.
