Thursday, November 21, 2024

Runaway RV Smashes Into Cloverdale Downtown After Brakes Fail— Driver Arrested for Alleged DUI

[All pictures provided by Jackie Evans]

Last Wednesday, May 18, 2022, an RV’s brakes failed as it approached a stop sign in Cloverdale’s downtown. The driver made a sharp turn to avoid colliding with another vehicle at the stoplight, bounced off a retaining wall, and finally came to a halt after smashing into the downtown streetscape. Cloverdale Police Chief Jason Ferguson told us the driver would be booked for driving under the influence of alcohol after testing over two times the legal limit.

Chief Ferguson told us 64-year-old John Ross Moore had driven the RV from the Mendocino Coast town of Fort Bragg that day and when he drove it onto the Cloverdale’s Main Street, the brakes failed. There were two passengers in the back of the RV but thankfully no injuries resulted from the collision.

Pictures sent to us by a Cloverdale resident show the extent of the damages. A retaining wall surrounding the yard of a single-story building is smashed through and limbs from nearby vegetation are strewn across the sidewalk. 

It finally came to a stop after it crashed into a garden box where a tree fell from the impact onto the RV which was no longer drivable due to visible axle and wheel damage. 

The photographs capture shocked bystanders looking at the aftermath of the runaway RV.

Chief Ferguson told us officers smelled alcohol on Moore’s breath, administered field sobriety tests, and breathalyzer results indicated he was impaired. He would be booked for driving under the influence.

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It must be stated that the charges described have not been proven in a court of law. In accordance with the legal principle of the presumption of innocence, any individual described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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3 COMMENTS

  1. How can you afford gas and still buy alcohol in today’s Amerika as the college educated lefty’s spell it? I cannot even afford Biden’s new food prices on a fixed income plus medical bills & pills. Brakes, more inflated dollars if they are even available in this Biden/Davos “GLOBAL ECONOMY” supply crises.
    But it may be a reason to drink that’s for sure.

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Matt LaFever
Matt LaFeverhttps://mendofever.com/
For the past seven years, Matt LaFever has covered the North Coast of California in both print and radio news. A Humboldt State graduate, he has lived in the Emerald Triangle for nearly 20 years. His reporting spans local issues like crime and wildfires. When not writing, Matt is an avid outdoorsman, exploring Northern California’s rugged landscapes. Reach out to him at matthewplafever@gmail.com.

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