UPDATE: Crash Knocks Out Signal at Murrieta Hot Springs, I-215

UPDATE 5:35 p.m. March 12:

More details were released today about a suspected DUI crash that resulted in a downed traffic signal at Murrieta Hot Springs Road and Interstate 215.

The downed signal was still causing traffic delays at the intersection today, and Cal Trans said it could take until Tuesday to replace the pole.

Murrieta resident Freddie Clifford Rudy, 35, was arrested on suspicion of DUI and evading officers following the crash, according to California Highway Patrol spokesman Nathan Baer.

According to Baer, at about 1:25 a.m. Sunday, officers spotted a 2006 Black Honda traveling north on Jefferson Avenue near Overland Trail in Temecula.

The driver was allegedly weaving in the lanes.

As the driver turned to head east on Winchester Avenue, Baer said officers attempted to pull the car over. 

"The Honda initially slowed and began to yield, then it rapidly accelerated away," Baer said in a news release today.

He said the car then got onto northbound Interstate 15 from Winchester. Rudy was pursued by officers at 100 mph, Baer said.

Rudy then exited Murrieta Hot Springs, where he allegedly sheared a traffic signal off at the base.

Rudy then went across lanes and onto an embankment. The Honda burst into flames, Baer said.

The CHP officers took steps to protect the Rudy from the flames, he said.

Rudy was treated for minor injuries then booked at Southwest Detention Center, Baer said.

He was released on $100,000 bail as of Sunday, sheriff's jail records show.

ORIGINAL POST:

Traffic signals at Murrieta Hot Springs Road and the entrance to northbound Interstate 215 remained damaged Monday after a suspected DUI driver plowed through the intersection early Sunday, police said.

The crash occurred at about 1 a.m. Sunday, according to Murrieta police Capt. Dennis Vrooman. The Murrieta Police Department was advised of the incident by California Highway Patrol, whose officers had pursued the driver from northbound Interstate 15 in Temecula, Vrooman said.

The driver merged onto northbound Interstate 215 and exited on Murrieta Hot Springs, allegedly at a high rate of speed, Vrooman said, hitting the southeast curb of the intersection.

"The vehicle knocked over the light pole, shot across all lanes of Murrieta Hot Springs, and rolled up the embankment next to Sizzler," Vrooman said, in an email to Patch.

The driver survived the crash and was arrested on suspicion of DUI, Vrooman said. 

Coincidentally, while Murrieta police officers were assisting CHP with road closure as a result of the crash, Vrooman said another suspected drunk driver drove through the cordoned-off area.

That driver, Jonathan Winsor, was also arrested and booked at Southwest Detention Center, Vrooman said.

The driver in the initial crash had not yet been confirmed by CHP as of publication time.

Intersection to Remain on Flash

A spokesperson for Cal Trans District 8 told Patch the signal—at the northbound on ramp to Interstate 215 from Murrieta Hot Springs—will remain on flash mode with stop signs possibly until Tuesday.

The damaged pole is not a stockyard item, said Shelli Lombardo, spokesperson for Cal Trans District 8. It was brought in specifically for that intersection, she said.

"We are resourcing that pole from another district," Lombardo told Patch. "It is going to remain on flash mode with stop signs until District 8 can resource the pole and make repairs."

Lombardo said they are projecting the repair will be made by the end of business Tuesday.