Man arrested on suspicion of DUI after crashing into Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy, injuring 2 others in Petaluma

A Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy had pulled over a car on Lakeville Highway in Petaluma early Monday when a Vallejo man struck the deputy’s vehicle, which then crashed into the vehicle that was pulled over, injuring all three drivers, officials said.

Just after 2 a.m., a deputy in a Dodge Charger pulled over a man in a Mercedes-Benz 1350 on southbound Lakeville Highway, just south of Cannon Lane, California Highway Patrol Officer David deRutte said.

The patrol car’s lights were activated, deRutte said, and the sheriff’s deputy was still inside his vehicle. Both he and the driver of the Mercedes were wearing safety belts.

That’s when authorities said Joel Rodriguez, 28, who was traveling along the highway in a Toyota Tacoma, struck the rear of the deputy’s vehicle.

The force caused the patrol car to slam into the back of the Mercedes and down a dirt embankment into a fence, deRutte said.

The deputy, who sustained moderate injuries, was taken to the hospital. The other drivers were also injured, but Derutte did not know to what extent.

Rodriguez was found to be driving over the state’s 0.08% legal limit of alcohol, and was booked into the Sonoma County jail on suspicion of a felony DUI causing injury, deRutte said.

“We are grateful our deputy survived and wish him a full and speedy recovery,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8531 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @alana_minkler.