Police: DUI driver plows into Petaluma home

Police say the man's blood alcohol level was nearly five times the legal limit when he crashed Tuesday.|
CHRISTI WARREN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A Petaluma man was arrested on suspicion of DUI after driving his SUV into a home Tuesday afternoon.

Police say Mitchell Butler, 51, was driving his Ford Expedition in the 200 block of Bond Avenue in Petaluma when he crashed into a parked car, and then plowed into the front pillar of a house.

No one was home at the time of the crash. Butler received minor injuries.

When police arrived on scene, they detected a “strong odor of alcohol.”

Butler told officers he was going to his sister’s house on South McDowell Boulevard, and that he knew he shouldn’t have been driving.

Police say his blood alcohol level was .397 - five times the legal limit. His license was also suspended.

Butler was taken to Petaluma Valley Hospital, where he consented to have his blood drawn. His car was impounded.

You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SeaWarren.

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