Officer Rammed in a DUI Stop; Driver Arrested
A suspected drunk driver who rammed a Costa Mesa motorcycle officer while trying to escape a traffic stop was arrested Friday, authorities said.
The officer, Robert Coash, suffered a scraped elbow Friday evening as Francisco Javier Gaona tried to flee, said Costa Mesa police Lt. Allen Huggins.
Coash stopped Gaona for speeding about 6:30 near the Stater Bros. parking lot on Newport Boulevard, Huggins said. When the officer told Gaona he would be investigated on suspicion of drunk driving, Gaona suddenly backed up and hit Coash and the motorcycle before speeding away, Huggins said.
Police found Gaona’s car abandoned about a mile away; a short time later the suspect was found in the backyard of a nearby condominium, Huggins said.
Gaona was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and felony DUI, he said.
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