Santa Clara crash leads to charges against two

Eugene police arrested two men early Saturday morning after an unusual chain of events that included alleged drunken driving and alleged possession of marijuana in Eugene’s Santa Clara neighborhood.

Officers responded about 4:30 a.m. Saturday to a report of a single-vehicle rollover crash near the intersection of River Road and Dean Avenue. Callers reported seeing two men flee from the vehicle after the crash, police said.

Officers located the man they say was driving the vehicle, 21-year-old Juan David Hernandez, a few blocks away. Officers say they determined that Hernandez was intoxicated and arrested him on charges of drunken driving, reckless driving, hit and run for property damage, reckless endangering and two counts of criminal mischief.

While officers were assisting at the crash scene, another man in a vehicle pulled up to inquire what happened. Police smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from the driver and asked him to park. The man, Michael Allen Brooks II, who turned 22 on Friday, was also arrested for drunken driving, police said.

When officers conducted an impound search on Brooks’ vehicle, they found 12 pounds of marijuana inside the car and its trunk, as well as empty alcohol containers, marijuana paraphernalia and equipment and material used for the production of hashish, police said.

Brooks was arrested on charges of drunken driving, possession of marijuana and delivery or manufacture of a controlled substance.