Posted on 05/22/2007 6:52:39 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
State Sen. Carole Migden bounced her state-issued SUV off the concrete median on Interstate 80 and nearly ran other motorists off the freeway before slamming into the back of another vehicle last week, the California Highway Patrol and witnesses said Tuesday.
More than half a dozen motorists made emergency calls about Migden's erratic driving before the Friday accident, the CHP said. The rear-end collision in Fairfield, midway between San Francisco and Sacramento, injured a woman and her 3-year-old daughter, who were sent to the emergency room.
In a statement released by her office last week, the San Francisco Democrat said the accident happened after she took her eyes off the road while reaching for a ringing cell phone.
But about a half dozen motorists had called 911 before the crash as Migden traveled more than 30 miles on Interstate 80, heading east from the San Francisco Bay area.
"We have drivers calling from apparently down in Berkeley all the way up to where she crashed," CHP Officer Marvin Williford said Tuesday. "Her driving was just erratic.
"Unfortunately, she crossed three different CHP districts, so by the time we got into position in one area, she was in a different jurisdiction."
Two of the witnesses who called 911 said Migden glanced off the concrete barrier dividing traffic on I-80, several miles before her accident, the CHP said.
"Based on her (Migden's) statement and the damage to her car, we know that she hit something. We're trying to determine where she hit it," Williford said.
In her statement to police, Migden said "she did feel she brushed up against something," Williford said, although there is no mention of that in the public statement released Friday by the senator's office.
Migden's spokeswoman, Tracy Fairchild, did not immediately return telephone calls and emails Tuesday seeking reaction.
Williford said investigators were reviewing the 911 tapes of the motorists' calls, which were treated like hundreds of others the CHP receives each day reporting erratic driving.
Migden was headed to a meeting in Marin County. Her office has said it was state business but has not released details.
She missed her exit and decided to get off the interstate at the Highway 12 exit in Fairfield, according to her office and the CHP. That's when Migden said she reached for her ringing cell phone.
Her state-issued 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid sport utility vehicle then rear-ended a Honda sedan that was slowing to stop at a traffic light.
"I did not see it coming. I heard no screeching brakes," the Honda's driver, Ellen Butawan of Vallejo, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
She said the impact smashed in the Honda's trunk about three feet.
"The tow truck guy told me that I was lucky no one was seriously injured," said Butawan, 31. "I went to the ER with a head injury, and the left side of my face is black and blue."
Her daughter, Leila, was in a child seat and suffered chest abrasions from the restraining harness, Butawan said. Both will see doctors for follow-up visits this week.
The impact pushed Butawan's car into the vehicle stopped in front of her, a heating-and-air conditioning van driven by Turlock resident Bob Jordan. Jordan, 57, was uninjured and his company vehicle received only minor damage, the CHP said.
In a telephone interview Tuesday with the AP, Jordan said two drivers who followed Migden off the interstate began berating her immediately after the accident.
"One of them said she'd run him off the road. They were pretty upset that she'd been driving so badly," Jordan said.
"She kept saying, 'You can't talk to me like that, I'm a state senator,'" he said. "She was kind of wobbly. She didn't seem alert. She was not acting normally."
Migden then got back in the SUV and began talking on her cell phone as police and emergency workers arrived, Jordan said.
Williford said the CHP's investigating officer will make a recommendation on whether charges should be filed.
"We're looking at all angles," he said. "The investigation is from the first call that we got (from a driver in Berkeley) up until the accident."
Investigators are confident Migden was not under the influence, Williford said. There was no smell of alcohol, her motor skills were unaffected and she took a preliminary alcohol screen that was negative.
"We've taken that as far as we can take it," Williford said. "The issue of driving under the influence is a dead issue."
Because Migden said she was on state business at the time, insurance paid for by California's taxpayers will cover damages and any other costs, said Senate spokeswoman Alicia Trost. Had Migden been on her own time, her personal insurance would apply, Trost said.
Last year, Migden voted for a law that takes effect in July 2008 requiring drivers to use a headset or other hands-free device when talking on a cell phone while driving.
An email to Migden's office asking whether she planned to comply sooner was not immediately answered.
At minimum, a reckless driving charge is in order.. also a civil suit for damages for those injured.
Lesbian gets “rear ended” while yakking on a cell phone - whooda thunkit
On the cell phone with her rug munching buddy? Got into an argument? Just askin’ ......
Anyone who watched Migden helming one of those committee meetings last year would be unsurprised to hear that her driving was reported to evince a similar lack of concern for the interests of others.
She sounds like a good reason to carry pepper spray or mace.In a world of hurt with the law and all she can do is spout off about how important she is..
Yeah, right.
You know when you hit the median. Somebody passed us years ago on the freeway from Sacramento to SF, sideswiped a bridge and it looked like the 4th of July the way sparks were flying. She kept right on going.
We don't even pay ours.
"We've taken that as far as we can take it," Williford said. "The issue of driving under the influence is a dead issue."
Well, that's damned convenient.
It certainly isn't dead with me!
If it were an "ordinary" subject, they would be in jail, and a blood test would have been mandatory.
Time to put the screws to the CHP officers involved and their superiors.
There is no excuse for that!
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Well, what’s up with the “crossing 3 jurisdictions” thingee?
What.. the cops had to stop at the town line and get someone else to pursue?
I loved CA when I lived there in the 80’s.
Now it’s a playground for Mexicans, Gang Bangers, Looney Liberals and some really idiotic Unions.
God Bless you Conservatives still keepin’ on!
Let her share a cell with Paris Hilton.
My how time flies when your munching, er, having fun.
As far as I know, that applies in California, too.
If the ordinary citizen would end up in jail under similar circumstances, this idiot should, too.
I note that they don’t mention the legisfelon’s party affiliation in the article. That’s a dead giveaway that Migden is a RAT. If she were a Republican, the headline would read “GOP state senator was driving erratically before accident, CHP says.”
No, she isn't. She's part of the ruling class. You don't think the rules apply to them, do you?
Throw the book at her. She’s clearly a danger to society. And if she *wasn’t* driving drunk, what does that say about her driving skills?
She needs to be drug tested too.
Another liberal democrat HYPOCRITE.
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