Man pleads no contest to felony DUI charge in multiple-injury crash

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A man arrested after a crash in April involving three motor vehicles and a bicycle injured multiple people has pleaded no contest to drunken driving causing injury, according to court records.

Three other charges — including hit-and-run — were dismissed Friday against Daniel Navarette.

He faces four years and four months in prison, prosecutors say.

Police said Navarette, 40, caused the crash by running a red light — and it’s alleged he was fleeing from a previous crash being investigated by the California Highway Patrol.

One person suffered broken ribs and another had soft tissue injuries, an attorney said during a prior court hearing. The crash happened in the area of Baker and Sumner streets.

Also Friday, Navarette pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor DUI charge filed after a 2023 arrest, records show.

At the time of the April crash, Navarette was out on bail in connection to a deadly crash in Ridgecrest in which a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter was filed in 2021. Alcohol was not involved in that incident. A pretrial conference is scheduled next month.

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