DUI Arrest in Sidewalk Crash

A 39-year-old Ventura woman was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving Wednesday after she crashed into two parked cars on East Main Street, pushing one onto a sidewalk near an outdoor cafe, police said.

Police said April Lotspeich was driving her Chevrolet Camaro south on Oak Street, which slopes sharply, at 5:15 p.m. when she lost control while making a left turn onto Main Street. Her car slammed into two unoccupied vehicles parked in front of Book Mall of Ventura at 424 E. Main St.

“That is a busy area,” said Ventura Officer Terri Vujea. “A lot of people sit out in front of Nicholby’s [coffeehouse] and talk and drink coffee. And there’s a bus stop right there. Somebody could have gotten hurt.”

No injuries were reported, however.

Lotspeich was released with a citation to appear in Ventura Municipal Court on a charge of driving under the influence, Vujea said.

Jennifer Ah Sing said she and her boyfriend Paul Darga of Santa Barbara were shopping in a clothing boutique a couple of blocks east of where Darga’s Volkswagen Jetta was parked when a passerby asked them if they had heard the crash. “We started laughing,” she said, fighting tears. “We thought it was funny.”

When the couple walked to their car, they found its rear smashed in and the back right side dented by the palm tree it hit as it was knocked onto the sidewalk. Police said the other vehicle, a Chevrolet van, suffered only a damaged fender.