Driver on LSD assaults CHP officers

Scotts Valley police officers joined Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies in coming to the aid of California Highway Patrol officers who were being assaulted by a Watsonville man following a car chase and foot race off Highway 17 and Laurel Road early Monday.
The Highway Patrol officer, who was not identified, was treated at the Dominican Hospital emergency room for minor injuries and released.
Officers said his assailant was later determined to be under the influence of LSD at the time of the incident, which occurred about three miles north of Scotts Valley.
The Highway Patrol reported that at about 2:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 12, a white Toyota Corolla was traveling northbound on Highway 17 through a construction zone just north of Scotts Valley.
The driver of the Toyota, later identified as Marko Manojlovic, 29, had collided with approximately 40 of the 28-inch reflective cones that had been placed for a lane closure, just south of Sugarloaf Road. The driver also had collided with a temporary metal “left-lane closed” sign, according to the report.
A Highway Patrol officer assisting CALTRANS observed the Corolla dragging cones and the metal signs, and called for assistance from another officer. Both attempted to stop the Corolla but it turned on to the Laurel Road turnout about one mile north.
About one-tenth of a mile east of the highway, officers said the driver drove his car into a metal fence and attempted to flee by jumping over the fence and running on foot down a dirt road.
The officers followed on foot and apprehended Manojlovic, who is 5-feet, 8-inches tall and weighs about 235 pounds. They reported that Manojlovic resisted and assaulted them. One officer was kicked several times before the suspect was restrained, they said.
Multiple agencies including the Scotts Valley Police Department and Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene to assist, they said.
Manojlovic was transported via transport ambulance to Dominican Hospital where he was medically cleared, then booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on charges of driving while intoxicated, evading arrest, resisting arrest, and battery on a police officer.