MORGAN HILL — A man seen urinating on a median and taking off in a van was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after he reportedly hit a police car during a clumsy escape attempt, authorities said.
A bystander called police about 5:48 p.m. Monday to report a man urinating on a center median in the north end of the city, and while the caller was on the phone, the man got into a work van and drove away, according to Morgan Hill police.
The witness followed the vehicle to San Pedro Avenue, where officers caught up to the van and tried to pull it over. But the driver did not stop, police said. At some point the van veered across a center-lane divider and clipped a patrol car and stopped at Church Street.
Officers ordered the driver out of the van at gunpoint and took him into custody on suspicion of DUI. He has been identified as Yrineo Pantoja, 37, of San Jose. A passenger, a 39-year-old Gilroy man, was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication.
No one was injured in the encounter.