At about 8:49 pm Tuesday night, the Turlock Police Department, Turlock Fire Department, and American Medical Response were dispatched to a reported vehicle collision with injuries at the intersection of West Monte Vista Avenue and Dels Lane, Turlock.
When crews arrived on scene, they located two vehicles involved. One was a red Jeep SUV and the other was a red Ford pickup truck.
Both vehicles only had one occupant, their drivers. The driver of the red Jeep SUV, later identified as Shawn Coates, 23, of Turlock, suffered minor injuries and refused to be transported to the hospital. The driver of the red Ford pickup truck was uninjured.
The red Jeep SUV sustained major damage and was deemed inoperable as a result of the collision, requiring it to be towed away. The red Ford pickup truck sustained moderate damage and was also deemed inoperable as a result of the collision, requiring it to be towed away.
Witnesses stated that the vehicle was traveling eastbound on West Monte Vista Avenue and ran the red lights at North Walnut Road and Crowell Road, before eventually running the one at Dels Lane and colliding with the red Ford pickup truck which was traveling northbound and making a westbound turn.
Officers noticed signs of intoxication coming from Coates and conducted standardized field sobriety tests on him. Officers developed probable cause to affect an arrest as a result of those tests. Coates was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of driving while intoxicated and driving with a blood alcohol content of .08 or greater.
