Man arrested for DUI after crashing into Caltrans plow on I-10

A 29-year-old Indio man was arrested Wednesday after he crashed into a Caltrans plow while using the shoulder of the interstate to pass vehicles that were stopped for construction, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Officer Mike Radford said Nicholas Latino is accused of DUI and a hit-and-run after driving away from the collision at 1:20 p.m. Latino was driving on eastbound I-10, east of Jefferson Street when he crashed into the plow which was attached to the front of a Caltrans pickup truck.

Radford said a CHP officer had stopped traffic to allow the Caltrans pickup truck to turn around on the freeway. That’s when Latino allegedly used the right shoulder of the interstate to pass the stopped traffic.

The left front side of his Jeep Laredo hit the plow and Latino exited I-10 at Monroe Street as he drove away from the scene, according to the CHP’s release.

Officers stopped Latino on Villa Palazzo, west of Monroe Street, at 2:22 p.m. He was arrested for misdemeanor hit-and-run, driving under the influence and driving on a suspended license.

Officer Radford said nobody was injured during the collision.