BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A new report obtained by Senior Reporter Veronica Morley details the night 22-year-old Manuel Gonzalez allegedly attempted to evade police and crashed into several cars, damaging an East Bakersfield bar.
- As the investigation continued, police learned Gonzalez didn’t have a license., was on post-release supervision, and this wasn’t the first time he’d attempted to evade police or his first alleged DUI.
While patrons of Stella’s Sandtrap relaxed amid music and drinks, they were unaware of the chaos that would ensue in early hours of June 16.
Just minutes after midnight a dark colored Audi 4 came barreling down Niles Street with police following as the car ran through a red light on Oswell, clipping a white suburban before smashing into several cars in the bar’s parking lot and pushing one of them thorough the wall into the business.
In the report police say the first saw the Audi on Niles and Mount Vernon attempting to stop it for violating a California Vehicle Code regarding tinted windows.
The report states as officers turned their lights and sirens on, the Audi took off, reaching up to 86 miles an hour.
After crashing into Stella’s, police arrived and found 22-year-old Manuel Gonzalez and a woman inside the car. Gonzales was in the back seat, according to the report, but the woman told police he’d been driving and didn’t know how he ended up there. A witness who knew the two told police “he just took off.”
Gonzalez told police he didn’t pull over because there was “weed and an open container” in the car. He told police he’d had two drinks prior, according to the report.
As the investigation continued, police learned Gonzalez didn’t have a license., was on post-release supervision, and this wasn’t the first time he’d attempted to evade police or his first alleged DUI.
Court documents show on May 25 Gonzalez was pulled over by California Highway Patrol for speeding. The officer smelled alcohol in the car and after a test, the report state’s Gonzalez’s BAC was .08. Gonzalez was cited and released.
That incident was less than a month before the crash into Stella’s Sandtrap.
Witnesses in the bar told police the walls shook moments before the car broke through. One woman said she was hit by the car along her ankle, arm, and back. Another said she was struck in the leg, according to documents.
Gonzalez was charged with four felonies related to this crash including DUI and evading police. He’s also facing misdemeanor charges for DUI related to the may incident.
He is due back in court on Monday.
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