O’NEALS — A North Fork man was taken into custody for DUI after rolling his pickup on Road 200 this afternoon.
At about 12:30 p.m., Fred Beatty, 55, was northbound on Road 200 just past the Circle J Ranch Road north of O’Neals in a Chevy Silverado pickup when he drifted off the right side of the road, skidded back across both lanes and rolled over, coming to rest upside down in the southbound lane.
The driver suffered only minor lacerations to his head, and firefighters out of Cal Fire Rancheria Station responded for traffic control and bandaged the man’s head while waiting for Sierra Ambulance to arrive.
SkyLife air ambulance was just minutes out from the landing zone at Minarets, but was called off due to the minor nature of the driver’s injuries.
Beatty refused to submit to a field sobriety test, and told the investigating officer that he was on his way to Coarsegold, which is in the other direction. He also told the officer that he was drunk, and he was having difficulty standing up.
The driver was placed under arrest for driving under the influence, and was transported by CHP to a valley hospital to be medically evaluated.
Road 200 remained open, with only minor delays for one-lane traffic control. The roadway was cleared by 1:30 p.m.
No other vehicles were involved, and there were no passengers in the pickup.
The accident remains under investigation.
