DUI suspect crashes in Santa Rosa Creek, sparks grass fires

A suspected drunken driver crashed into the Santa Rosa Creek, flipping his pickup, starting two small grass fires and causing an oil leak into the creek, authorities said Monday.

Santa Rosa officers arrested Luis Alberto Arreaga, 29, of Santa Rosa, who they suspected was driving while three times the legal 0.08 blood alcohol concentration limit Saturday night, according to a preliminary test, said Santa Rosa police Lt. John Snetsinger.

Firefighters put out the fires on the shoulder of Montgomery Drive and called for a hazardous materials response unit for the oil, Santa Rosa fire Battalion Chief Matt Dahl said.

The 8:40 p.m. crash happened in the 4800 block of Montgomery Drive, near Mission Boulevard in east Santa Rosa. Arreaga ran off the road, hit a power pole, knocking down lines and sparking the fires, Snetsinger said. The man’s truck then dropped about 25 feet down the steep embankment to the creek below, landing on its roof.

He was able to get out of the pickup on his own and wasn’t injured. Arreaga was at the crash scene when officers arrived. Officers arrested him on suspicion of drunken driving.