Rohnert Park Man Sentenced To Prison For DUI Crash That Injured Officer

SONOMA COUNTY, CA -- A Rohnert Park man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for DUI and reckless driving in connection with a 2016 pursuit and crash that injured a Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety officer, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said.

The sentence was issued by a Sonoma County judge on April 17.

Rohnert Park public safety officers responded around 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 24 to a report of a fight outside a residence.

A suspect, later identified as Daniel Lee Packett, 49, of Rohnert Park, fled in a pickup truck and officers found him in a residential area near the Foxtail Golf Club at 100 Golf Course Drive, the District Attorney's
Office said.

Packett drove onto the golf course to avoid a traffic stop with officers in pursuit until their patrol cars were unable to pursue Packett further.

Other officers tried to stop the pickup when it left the golf course but Packett drove up to 90 mph on Rohnert Park streets before he collided head-on with a patrol car at Todd Road and Santa Rosa Avenue, the District Attorney's Office said.

Packett's blood-alcohol level was 0.127 percent and he was arrested for DUI. The officer suffered minor injuries in the collision with Packett's pickup but made a full recovery, the District Attorney's Office said.

Packett pleaded no contest to felony DUI causing injury and reckless evading. He also admitted have two prior strike convictions and having served time in prison on three separate occasions, the District Attorney's Office said.

Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via Shutterstock