A Cruise Night event Saturday night in San Mateo brought thousands of enthusiasts to El Camino Real in a largely successful and fun gathering, but one driver ended up with an arrest for evading police, possession of a ghost gun, driving while intoxicated and warrants, according to police.
The popular event stretched from Third Avenue to Hillsdale Boulevard but at approximately 7:57 p.m. at the intersection of Avila Road and South El Camino Real, a Buick made an illegal U-turn in front of officers, causing them and others to slam on their brakes. As the officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop, the driver increased speed and fled, driving recklessly into oncoming traffic and through a red light, at which time the “pursuit” was terminated due to the amount of vehicular traffic and potential for harm to public safety.
A traffic officer on a motorcycle spotted the Buick swerving around stopped traffic and ran a red light in front of him, so he attempted to stop the vehicle. The Buick continued to evade, and in doing so, side-swiped a car but kept fleeing south. The Buick driver “brake checked” the officer, causing him to maneuver to avoid a collision. As the driver approached the stoplight at 20th Avenue and South El Camino Real, he had to stop because of traffic. At this time, officers were able to detain him and his two passengers.
Inside the vehicle, officers located an unloaded “ghost gun” with two magazines and extra ammunition. The driver, identified as Ronald Wetzel, 34, of Fremont, displayed signs of intoxication. It was determined he was driving with a .17% BAC and had a warrant for his arrest.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.