Suspected DUI driver rear-ends CHP patrol car on Highway 101 near Santa Rosa

A 25-year-old driver was arrested Sunday on suspicion of drunken driving after he rear-ended a CHP patrol car on southbound Highway 101 in a high-speed crash, CHP officials said.

Eric Reab of Santa Rosa was booked into the Sonoma County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail on suspicion of felony drunken driving, DUI driving causing injury and a misdemeanor charge for allegedly refusing to take a field sobriety test, according to officials and jail records.

Reab was driving a 1997 Nissan Versa about 1:30 a.m. Sunday on the highway near Fulton Road when he approached the patrol car from behind traveling in excess of 100 mph, CHP Officer David deRutte said.

Two officers in the patrol car, driver Russell Smith and passenger Mitchell Perez, said the Nissan “quickly closed the distance between the two vehicles” before they were able to react, deRutte said.

“Luckily, the officer (driving the patrol car) was able to maintain control and guided the patrol car to the right shoulder,” deRutte said in an email. “The Nissan, having sustained major damage, rolled to a stop near the right shoulder.”

Reab was arrested after officers interviewing him noticed he appeared intoxicated, deRutte said. He was treated for minor injuries at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital before being taken to jail, officials said.

Smith and Perez were driven to Memorial Hospital by fellow CHP personnel, and they were released after being treated for minor-to-moderate injuries, deRutte said.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story misspelled the surname of CHP Officer David DeRutte.