Driver suspected of DUI after crashing into Atwater home. Was it a drag race gone wrong?

A Merced woman was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of DUI after crashing a vehicle into an Atwater home.

According to Atwater Police Sgt. Dayton Snyder, officers responded to the collision in the 1200 block of Winton Way at about 6:40 p.m..

Yolanda Papin, 39, of Merced, was arrested at the scene. “Upon contact, she had all the objective signs and symptoms of being under the influence of an alcoholic beverage,” Snyder said.

Papin had been driving a black 2016 Chevrolet Malibu with a 30-year-old woman in the passenger seant southbound on North Winton Way in the number two lane, police said.

She had told police that while stopped at a red light at the intersection of North Winton Way and Juniper Avenue, a person in a vehicle next to them wanted to race, Snyder said.

Police said Papin accelerated from the light reaching speeds in excess of 50 mph. According to police, Papin told officers the other vehicle swerved into her lane, which caused her to lose control.

Police said the Malibu went into the number one lane, Papin overcorrected into the number two lane and left the roadway crashing into the bedroom of the home. The front half of the vehicle entered the home beneath the window.

Police said the home was occupied by two small children and an adult at the time of the collision. No injuries to the home’s occupants were reported.

The passenger in the vehicle was not injured and Papin was cited, released. Riggs Ambulance Service took her to an area hospital with unspecified injuries.

This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 3:15 PM.