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Driver cited for causing crash during Trump support rally in Santa Maria

Posted at 9:13 AM, Nov 09, 2020
and last updated 2020-11-09 14:43:17-05

UPDATE (11:40 a.m.) - Police say people who witnessed the crash helped detain the driver before officers arrived on scene.

Investigators say reports were that the driver tried to flee the scene, and video being reviewed by police shows bystanders holding him down, with one person appearing to use a chokehold or something similar on the suspect.

They said the driver was not injured and did not report any of that altercation to authorities.

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ORIGINAL STORY: A driver was cited after crashing into vehicles in the area of a Trump support rally in Santa Maria Sunday.

Santa Maria police say it happened at about 2:10 p.m. in the area of Stowell Road and Speed Street.

Investigators say prior to the crash, a 20-year-old driver from Santa Maria was antagonizing some participants and throwing objects at the rally.

At one point, police say he entered the intersection without yielding, crossing through the rally and then colliding with a vehicle heading the opposite direction.

That vehicle reportedly rolled onto its side where another vehicle then crashed into it.

The drivers of those two vehicles were taken to the hospital but their injuries were not described as critical.

The driver who caused the crash was not injured but was given a misdemeanor citation for reckless driving causing injury, according to police.

Sunday’s "Stop the Steal" demonstration went through Templeton, Atascadero, the Five Cities area and Santa Maria and was part of a national movement called "MAGA Drag the Interstate.”