CHP: Cloverdale DUI suspect nearly 3x legal limit tried to outrun officer

A Ukiah man suspected of drinking and driving with a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit was arrested after a pursuit that ended with a patrol car blocking his path, the CHP reported.

An officer tried to pull over driver Joel DeGallier, 32, on suspicion of speeding Sunday morning on North Old Redwood Highway in Cloverdale after seeing an Audi pass another vehicle at 77 mph in a 50 mph zone.

Instead of pulling over, the driver turned onto rural Highway 128 and sped away. The officer alerted another officer who was patrolling up ahead, CHP spokesman Officer Jon Sloat said in a news release.

After one mile, the Audi driver found the road blocked by a patrol car and stopped. The pursuing CHP car pulled in behind him.

The driver, who appeared to be intoxicated, told officers he’d run because he hadn’t wanted to be pulled over, Sloat said. A preliminary test showed his blood-alcohol percentage was almost at 0.24. He was arrested after the 10:10 a.m. chase on suspicion of drunken driving and evading police.

DeGallier was booked into the Sonoma County Jail and later released after posting bail.

He was one of 12 drivers arrested on suspicion of drunken driving by CHP officers in Sonoma County over the weekend.

Others arrested included a Cloverdale man who crashed his BMW into a power pole on Scenic Avenue near Moorland Avenue in southern Santa Rosa. The crash temporarily blocked part of the road.

The man, Jose DeLeon, 22, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. He also was on probation for gang convictions and dissuading a witness, Sloat said.