Vigilant drivers report Highway 1 wrong-way DUI driver

RIO DEL  MAR — A 35-year-old Modesto woman was arrested on suspicion of DUI over the weekend after driving the wrong way on Highway 1 and later crashing into a pole on private property.

Multiple eyewitnesses called 911, reporting the driver’s apparently erratic behavior. The California Highway Patrol began investigating shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday, heading to the Rio Del Mar exit of southbound Highway 1. One caller reported seeing the driver, in a gray 2016 Honda Pilot, get onto the highway headed northbound in the southbound lanes via the offramp and another reported the Honda colliding with a tow truck, according to CHP radio dispatchers.

Within less than an hour, CHP officers were responding to a different wrong-way driver report on Highway 17 near Mount Hermon Road, according to radio dispatches.

The driver, according to Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office arrest logs, was teacher Kalyn Cherokee Lee. As of Monday afternoon, Lee was no longer in custody and the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office had yet to file charges.

CHP Officer Israel Murillo said Monday that the report of a crash with a tow truck was unfounded.

In a post to the CHP Santa Cruz unit’s social media, the public was commended for calling with tips on the driver. Other drivers in a similar situation were urged to slow down, find a safe spot and immediately call 911.

“We want to express our sincere gratitude to all the callers who alerted us about the wrong-way driver!,” the CHP posted. “Your help and quick thinking made a significant difference in ensuring everyone’s safety.”