NORTH COAST, Calif. – A Ukiah teenager was arrested for felony driving under the influence following a Friday crash near Hopland that injured five bicyclists.
Gabriel Chaska Ray, 18, was arrested following the wreck, which occurred in the 6200 block of Old River Road shortly after 5 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
Mendocino County Jail records indicated that Ray was booked for two felony counts of DUI causing injury and one misdemeanor charge of being an unlicensed driver. His bail was set at $30,000.
Ray was driving a 1996 Honda Accord – with 42-year-old Timothy Elliott III of Ukiah riding as his passenger – northbound on Old River Road north of Hopland, the CHP said.
The CHP said a group of bicyclists was riding northbound at approximatively 20 miles per hour in a straight line close to the roadway edge.
The bicyclists included Deborah Banks, 57, of Sacramento; Mark Clifford, 60, of Los Altos; Lawrence Sokolsky, 54, of Portola Valley; Michael Sokolsky, 53, of San Mateo; and Laura Stern, 52, of Menlo Park, the CHP said.
As Ray exited a curve in the roadway, the front of his vehicle hit Banks from the rear. The CHP said she was thrown from her bicycle, hitting the windshield of Ray's car and falling to the right shoulder of the roadway.
Ray continued northbound and hit the rest of the group consecutively, the CHP said.
The CHP said that when Stern was struck by Ray's vehicle she became stuck on the hood. As Ray continued driving, she fell off the Honda and became trapped underneath it.
Stern was extricated from underneath Ray's vehicle and taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with major injuries, according to the CHP.
Lawrence Sokolsky and Banks also suffered major injuries, with moderate injuries suffered by Clifford and Michael Sokolsky. The CHP said those four bicyclists were taken to Ukiah Valley Medical Center for treatment.
Officials said Ray and Elliott were not injured.
All of the individuals involved were using their safety equipment, the CHP said.
The CHP said that Ray was arrested for DUI following an investigation, with Elliott arrested on a felony warrant.
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