A young boy was hospitalized, and a family member was arrested on felony charges following a bizarre traffic accident, according to the Lompoc Police Department.
The incident occurred at about 5:50 p.m. Thursday on the 1800 block of Berkeley Drive, said Sgt. Chuck Strange.
“When the officers arrived, they discovered that a 10-year-old child had been injured after falling from a moving vehicle,” Strange said.
Investigators learned that an allegedly intoxicated family member, Ronald Sanford Day, 60, of Lompoc, had asked the boy to drive, Strange said.
The car began to roll backward while the boy was in the driver’s seat, Strange said, and at some point he fell out and was pulled along the roadway.
“Mr. Day attempted to gain control of the car, and also fell partially from the vehicle as it was moving,” Strange said. “He gained control of the vehicle, but not before it ran over the … boy’s torso.”
The boy, whose name was not released, was taken by helicopter to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries and internal bruising, and held for observation.
Day, whose blood-alcohol level was almost double the .08 percent at which a person is considered drunk, was arrested on felony charges of DUI causing injury and child endangerment, and misdemeanor hit and run causing injury, Strange said.
He was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail, with bail set at $100,000.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.