Driver arrested in connection with hit-and-run collisions in Santee, El Cajon

A suspected drunken driver was arrested Tuesday after allegedly being involved in hit-and-run collisions in El Cajon and Santee, and also reportedly driving the wrong way on a road, officials said.

Deputies responded to reports of a hit-and-run collision involving a green SUV near Prospect and North Magnolia avenues shortly after 6 p.m.

The El Cajon Police Department simultaneously broadcast a “be on the lookout” bulletin for a similar SUV involved in a collision in neighboring El Cajon, authorities said. That driver was in a crash involving six cars on Naranca and North Mollison avenues, said police Lt. Mike Murphy. He said motorists who were hit suffered minor injuries.

Around 6:38 p.m., someone called 911 to report seeing a wrong-way driver in a green SUV driving in Santee.

An off-duty sheriff’s sergeant listening to the radio call spotted the suspect vehicle driving south on Timberlane Way. The vehicle collided with two vehicles at Mast Boulevard and Bilteer Drive, injuring the driver of one vehicle.

The vehicle then went off the roadway and slammed into a utility box, a sheriff’s news release said.

A 34-year-old man who appeared to be intoxicated was taken into custody without incident, authorities said. He was taken to a hospital, where he remained Wednesday, a sheriff’s spokesperson said. The extent of his injuries was not released.

Staff writer Karen Kucher contributed to this report.