Drunk driver on hit-and-run spree arrested after police chase: cops

A man who crashed into several vehicles on his way into town Wednesday night was arrested — and cops threw the book at him.

Johnnie P. Collins, 46, faces charges of fleeing, reckless driving, hit-and-run, failing to comply, failing to stop, resisting arrest, possessing an open container of alcohol, DUI, extreme DUI, aggravated DUI and criminal nuisance, according to a probable cause statement obtained by InMaricopa .

Police responded to a hit-and-run on North John Wayne Parkway at Lakeview Drive around 9:45 p.m. involving Collins’ white Honda Accord.

“This car hit us and I’m pretty sure several others,” said Maricopa Meadows resident Jamie Lee Hodge, one of the victims that night. “He was swerving so bad.”

Cops found Collins driving south erratically on John Wayne Parkway, the police report stated. He repeatedly slowed down, sped up and ran a red light.

When officers initiated a traffic stop, a chase ensued. Collins eventually pulled over in the Carniceria Sonora parking lot and was surrounded by police vehicles.

Collins was removed from the sedan and handcuffed. Officers noted he smelled like alcohol and had “slurred incoherent speech, bloodshot and watery eyes with issues on his balance.” They found a cup of alcohol in the car.

Because Collins refused to take a field sobriety test, his license was revoked on the spot, according to police. Maricopa Police Department obtained a warrant for his blood.

Collins faces a presumptive sentence of more than 30 years in prison. Arizona law requires him to serve time if convicted even on just one DUI charge.

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