Bakersfield attorney admitted drinking before DUI checkpoint crash: report
Jan 08, 2025
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- A Bakersfield attorney accused of injuring multiple people when he crashed into a California Highway Patrol vehicle at a DUI checkpoint smelled of and admitted to drinking alcohol, according to a court filing.
William Charles Wright, 42, had slurred speech and was unsteady on his feet after the Dec. 14 crash, according to a probable cause declaration.
A preliminary breath test indicated Wright's blood-alcohol content was 0.18% -- more than twice the legal limit. A prosecutor said he has two prior DUI convictions.
Wright is charged with two counts of DUI causing injury and hit and run resulting in injury, all felonies. He’s also facing a misdemeanor resisting arrest charge. Free on $30,000 bail, he's due back in court March 19.
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The crash occurred after Wright’s blue Lexus SUV drove around a CHP vehicle that had its emergency lights flashing as it stopped traffic on the northbound lanes of Calloway Drive at Slikker Drive, officers said.
"Shortly after, I heard a crash and a broadcast over the radio for help," the officer who'd been stopping traffic wrote in the declaration.
The officer drove north and saw the Lexus had hit a patrol vehicle. An officer and two people in the CHP's Explorer Program were injured, according to the declaration.