Our state is best known for the year-round fun that our residents and visitors can experience at our beaches and state parks. We take great pride in our outdoor spaces and the bicycle and pedestrian pathways that are set aside for their use. Those spaces are set aside so that the people who use them are safely away from accidents from motor vehicles.
The Santa Monica Mirror reports that Santa Monica Police officers have arrested a man on suspicion of driving under alcohol and/or drugs after driving his Ford Explorer recklessly down a Santa Monica Beach bicycle path on Sunday, March 13.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Santa Monica Police Department told reporters that dozens of beachgoers consisting mainly of pedestrians and bicyclists had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by the SUV.
SMPD officers were called to the scene and alerted those in the vicinity with lights and sirens before they were able to stop and apprehend the driver near the 1600 block of the public bicycle path.
Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident.
The driver has been identified as 62-year-old Jaime Cruz Ibarra of Compton. After performing a series of field sobriety tests, police officers at the scene placed Cruz-Ibarra under arrest on suspicion of DUI, reckless driving, and driving on a bicycle lane.
