Lakeport >> Officers say a teenage driver was drunk when he crashed head on with another vehicle, leaving its driver with multiple injuries.
John Coggins, 18, was arrested on Tuesday following a vehicle collision on 11th Street near Safeway.
The Lakeport resident, investigating officers said, was driving a 1998 Volvo sedan traveling east when he collided with a westbound 2000 Chevrolet Blazer driven by a 43-year-old Clearlake Oaks man. The crash caused major front-end damage to both vehicles involved, according to the Lakeport Police Department (LPD).
The victim had complaints of pain to his stomach, neck, back and left leg when LPD officers arrived at the scene upon being dispatched at about 6:15 p.m. He was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for treatment by personnel from the Lakeport Fire Protection District (LFPD) in an ambulance.
During the investigation, officers noticed that Coggins was displaying what they believed to be signs and symptoms of alcohol influence and proceeded to conduct a series of field sobriety tests on him which he failed.
Coggins was transported to the LPD where he submitted to a blood alcohol content (BAC) test by breath. The results showed that his BAC was above the legal limit at .13 percent. He was booked into the Lake County Hill Road Correction Facility facing a felony charge of drunk driving causing injury.
Bail was set at $30,000.
This case remains under investigation but unsafe speed is also believed to be a factor in the collision, according to the LPD.
This is also Coggins’ second arrest for drunk driving in the city of Lakeport in the past four days, authorities said. On Friday at about 9:15 p.m. an LPD officer working traffic enforcement reportedly saw a gray Chevrolet sedan fail to stop at the sign on South Main Street and Lakeport Boulevard then travel west on Lakeport Boulevard at a high rate of speed.
The officer noticed that the driver, Coggins, was displaying signs and symptoms of alcohol influence and that he had beer in the vehicle. The officer conducted a series of field sobriety tests on him which he failed.
Coggins was arrested and booked for driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with alcohol in his blood while under 21 and being in possession of alcohol while under 21.
The LPD is dedicated to keeping its residents safe by apprehending impaired motorists and encourages members of the community to report all intoxicated drivers.
