Driver suspected of DUI after crashing into multiple vehicles in Merced, police say

A driver was arrested Monday after police say he collided with multiple vehicles in south Merced.

No injuries were reported.

Officers responded to the incident at about 4:25 p.m. in the area of M and 8th streets.

Merced Police Lt. Joe Weiss identified the suspect and driver of the vehicle as Jesus Arturo Perez-Hernandez, 23.

Officer Craig McKeeman said according to witness statements, the man was traveling at a high rate of speed in a 2006 Nissan Sentra southbound on M Street, before colliding at the intersection with a Volkswagen sedan.

He allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign, witnesses said.

After the first collision, he continued traveling southbound on M Street where he hit a parked Ford F-150 between 7th and 8th Streets, police said.

He then lost control of the car and spun out, causing debris from his vehicle to hit a nearby Scion.

According to McKeeman, he then exited the vehicle and began walking southbound just as the first responding officers arrived.

Police said the man was identified as the driver of the vehicle by another motorist, whom he had passed on M Street before the initial crash.

Perez-Hernandez was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence, hit and run with property damage as well as other infractions, according to jail records.

This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 6:42 PM.