COARSEGOLD – A woman suspected of driving while intoxicated drove off the road and through a fence yesterday just north of Yosemite Springs Parkway on Highway 41.
Patricia Blauvelt, 45, of Fresno, was northbound on Highway 41 in a 1995 Toyota Camry at about 3:10 p.m. on Wednesday, Apr. 24, at what she later told CHP was 55-60 mph.
Due to what CHP Officer Matyshock described as her “high level of intoxication,” she drove off the right shoulder of the road, crashed through a barbed wire fence, and came to rest high-centered on a huge rock in a cow pasture.
She took out about 40 feet of a 6-strand barbed wire fence, and mangled several steel posts in her wake, causing the property owner to have to come out and do repairs.
Blauvelt was less than cooperative with emergency personnel and the CHP, dropping to the ground next to her car and causing a loud commotion.
When she calmed down a bit, she was able to walk under her own power back through the fence and up to the road.
Sierra Ambulance was on scene, and after EMS looked her over, Officer Matyshock determined her to be “heavily intoxicated.”
Blauvelt was transported to Madera Community Hospital for treatment of her injuries, and upon being cleared by medical staff at MCH, was taken into custody, charged with Driving Under the Influence, and booked into the Madera County Jail.
Doc’s Towing arrived to take custody of the Toyota, which, during the course of the investigation, was discovered to have been stolen.
No other vehicles were involved in the incident.
