ESCONDIDO (CNS) - A probationer with a suspended license from a drunken driving conviction was facing felony charges Monday after he was stopped on suspicion of drunken driving in Escondido and linked to a hit-and-run.
Officers conducting a saturation patrol about 8:30 p.m. Friday spotted Michael Youngdale, 27, of Valley Center, driving his Ford F-150 pickup truck erratically and run two red lights in the vicinity of Valley Parkway and Interstate 15, Escondido police Lt. Tom Albergo said.
The officers pulled over Youngdale and, while arresting him on suspicion of drunken driving, other officers responded to a hit-and-run accident several miles away near Del Lago and Via Rancho Parkway that left another motorist with minor injuries, Albergo said.
Officers then matched the vehicle description and license plate number from the hit-and-run crash to the suspect's vehicle, he said.
"Fortunately they got his license plate number, so we were able to solve that crime," Albergo said.
Youngdale was jailed on suspicion of felony drunken driving, felony hit-and-run, driving with a suspended license and a probation violation, according to Albergo and jail records.
Another driver also was arrested during the saturation patrol, which is aimed at catching suspected drunken drivers, Albergo said.
