Petaluma police arrest 8 suspected drunken drivers after Butter and Egg Days Parade

Eight drivers in Petaluma were arrested Saturday night and Sunday morning on suspicion of driving drunk, and several had preliminary blood-alcohol percentages nearly double the legal limit, according to Petaluma police.

The drivers, five men and three women, were from Inverness, Petaluma, Alameda, Santa Rosa, Sonoma and Cotati, and ranged in age from 20 to 64.

A 20-year-old Petaluma resident had an initial blood-alcohol percentage level of 0.26 - more than three times the legal limit of 0.08, police said. The arrests were made throughout the city, from 4 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday following the city’s Butter and Egg Days Parade.

Officers stopped drivers after seeing them commit a violation, for having a vehicle violation or because other drivers called 911.

The arrests included reports of reckless driving, running red lights, weaving and hitting a curb, nearly sideswiping six parked vehicles and making an illegal turn. One man wasn’t licensed to drive and another had a prior DUI conviction, a current DUI case and two warrants for a drug offense, according to police.

-Randi Rossmann