Suspected Drunk Driver Almost Hits CHP Officer in Highway 101

A suspected drunk driver crashed into a Caltrans construction vehicle on US-101 southbound in Corte Madera early Thursday morning, March 21, nearly missing a parked California Highway Patrol vehicle. 

Around 1:50 a.m. Thursday, Marin CHP officers were assisting Caltrans construction crews on southbound US-101, north of the Madera Boulevard exit, when 30-year-old Juan Carlos Avilez-Chuc of Novato collided with a stopped Caltrans truck, according to CHP. The driver of the Caltrans vehicle was able to jump to safety just before the crash. 

Avilez-Chuc nearly missed colliding into a parked CHP vehicle shortly before the crash. The CHP vehicle had its overhead emergency lights on, according to CHP. 

The Caltrans worker was in the process of picking up construction cones that had been set up to close the slow lane for construction.

The 2013 Saturn Ion Avilez-Chuc was driving collided with the truck, spun out of control and collided with a metal guardrail on the right-hand shoulder before coming to a stop sideways, blocking two lanes of traffic, according to CHP. 

Avilez-Chuc was transported to Marin General Hospital for minor injuries. He was arrested for driving under the influence of alochol and was booked into Marin County Jail. 

Two lanes of traffic were closed for approximately 45 minutes while law enforcement investigated.