Full Notification

                                                                                                                                                          PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release                                                                                                                                                                  
Saturday, April 23, 2022

Issued By:
Sergeant Ryan DeBaeke, Petaluma PD, 707.778.4372

 
Incident:                      DUI Driver Arrested after Roll-Over Collision
Report Number:          22-1658
Occurred Date :           April 23, 2022
Occurred Time:           4:34 a.m.
Location:                     900 Block of Western Avenue  
Suspects:                    Miguel Hernandez-Villalva (30, Sonoma)
Charges:                     Driving Under the Influence causing injury                                        (23153 CVC)  
                                    Providing false information to a police                                                officer (31 CVC)
 
   
On Saturday April 23 2022 at approximately 4:34 am, Petaluma Police Officers and Petaluma Fire Department personnel were dispatched to the 900 block of Western Avenue for a reported traffic collision in which the involved vehicle had rolled over and collided with a parked pickup truck. Officers arrived on scene and contacted Miguel Hernandez, who was the registered owner of the vehicle, and two female passengers. When asked how the collision occurred, Hernandez stated he and his female passengers were at a bar in Santa Rosa when they met another male who Hernandez stated he knew only as “Jose”.  Hernandez stated that Jose offered to drive them home because they were intoxicated and was driving the vehicle at the time of the collision. Hernandez further added that Jose fled the scene of the collision prior to police arrival.
 
PPD Officers performed a search of the area and located Ring camera footage that revealed Hernandez and his two female passengers were the only ones in the vehicle. Subsequent interviews with both female passengers also confirmed that Hernandez had been driving his vehicle at the time of the collision. Both females sustained minor injuries due to the collision and were transported by PFD to Petaluma Valley Hospital for treatment.  PPD Officers administered a series of Field Sobriety Tests to Hernandez which he failed, as well as requested he submit to a breath test which showed his Blood Alcohol Content at one and a half times the legal limit. Hernandez was placed under arrest for Felony driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and providing false information to police officers.  He was later booked at the Sonoma County Jail.
 
The Petaluma Police Department is committed to increasing traffic safety and reducing the number of alcohol-related collisions. Petaluma Police advise motorist to plan ahead by designating a sober driver.  Drivers caught driving impaired and charged with a first-time DUI face an average of $13,500 in fines and penalties, as well as a suspended license.