SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A probationer was back behind bars on a raft of criminal charges Tuesday for allegedly causing a demolition derby-like spree of traffic wrecks and resulting injuries while driving drunk in Vista, authorities said.
Isaias Diego Miguel, 32, was jailed on 19 counts, including six felonies, after allegedly plowing his pickup truck into a half-dozen other vehicles and various pieces of roadside infrastructure on Monday evening, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.
The spate of roadway smash-ups began at about 7:30 p.m., when Miguel's vehicle struck a parked car and a steel gate at an apartment complex in the 1400 block of Oak Drive, Lt. Noah Zarnow said.
Miguel then allegedly crashed the truck into two other nearby parked vehicles and a fire hydrant before proceeding to drive on the wrong side of the road on Foothill Drive, sideswiping a passing vehicle and forcing several oncoming motorists to take evasive actions to get out of his way.
He then allegedly attempted to pass vehicles over a set of double yellow lines, resulting in a head-on collision.
"In an attempt to flee this scene, Miguel reversed and then accelerated forward, ramming the victim's vehicle to push it out of the way," Zarnow said. "The victim sustained injuries and was ... treated (by paramedics) on scene."
Miguel's pickup then struck an oncoming minivan, causing major damage to it and leaving its driver with minor injuries.
Though by this point his vehicle had lost its front driver's-side tire and sustained other significant damage, Miguel continued driving until he lost control one last time, sending the truck veering off the roadway and crashing into a power pole in a neighborhood near Alta Vista Botanical Gardens, where deputies took him into custody, authorities said.
Miguel was being held in county jail in Vista on $555,760 bail pending arraignment on an array of charges, including driving while intoxicated, hit-and-run causing injury, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license and violating terms of his probation.
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