Driver arrested for driving under the influence
By Daily Press staff
DOWNTOWN — A Covina man was arrested Thursday afternoon for driving under the influence after his motor home crashed into the Holiday Inn. No one was injured.
At about 2 p.m., Michael J. Gongora, 30, lost control of his 27-foot-long motor home after he hit a parked car while he was exiting the McDonalds’ parking lot, located across the street from the Holiday Inn, said Santa Monica Police Lt. Frank Fabrega. Martin Courtney/Special to the Daily Press The motor home stopped a few feet away from a public seating area.
After hitting the parked car, Gongora lost control and hit the McDonalds’ sign and then crossed Colorado Avenue, where he struck a planter box on the hotel’s north side, just a few feet west of the intersection of Second Street. Gongora missed the hotel’s entrance and a public seating area by just feet.
When Santa Monica Police officers arrived on scene, they noticed a strong odor of alcohol, Fabrega said. After failing a series of field sobriety tests, Gongora was arrested by police and taken to the Santa Monica Jail, where a chemical test was administered. The test concluded that Gongora’s blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit of.08, Fabrega said. Gongora is being held at the Santa Monica Jail on a $5,000 bail.
The hotel sustained damage on the outside of the building, and it’s unknown if its interior had been damaged. The motor home sustained moderate damage, and the parked car at McDonalds’ had damage to its back end.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 8, 2005. Read the original PDF.