DUI crash driver ‘still inhaling whippets’ while trapped in wreckage: police
Feb 24, 2026
(KRON) -- Sebastopol police said they took a 47-year-old man into custody who was allegedly inhaling whippets before and after he crashed his vehicle on Tuesday morning.
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Police said officers responded to the 6000 block of Sebastopol Avenue around 6 a.m. to
investigate a report of a traffic crash with a driver trapped in the wreckage.
At the scene, police located a black Land Rover SUV that collided into the brick wall, "punching a substantial hole into the brickwork."
According to Sebastopol police, officers found the suspect inside the vehicle who was "still inhaling whippets, which contain nitrous oxide (N₂O)." After the man was removed from the vehicle, he was arrested and taken to a nearby hospital. He was since transported to Sonoma County Sheriff's Office Jail where he faces a charge of driving under the influence.
In a statement posted on social media, officials broke down the aftermath scene captured from the incident, which can be watched in the video player above.
Photo courtesy of Sebastopol Police Department.
Photo courtesy of Sebastopol Police Department.
Photo courtesy of Sebastopol Police Department.
Photo courtesy of Sebastopol Police Department.
Photo courtesy of Sebastopol Police Department.
"As can be seen from the attached video footage, the vehicle was traveling westbound on Sebastopol Avenue, quite clearly at a significant and unsafe speed," said Sebastopol police. "At the intersection of Petaluma Avenue, the vehicle impacted the curb at West America Bank, crashed through their large signage, ripping it out of the ground, then through large trees breaking them off at ground level, continuing through the entire parking lot before impacting with the brick wall of the building next to the bank, causing significant structural damage."
No other injuries were reported in the crash.
Police added, "We are extremely grateful that none of our citizens were in the vicinity of this driver and vehicle at the time of the crash, or we would most certainly be dealing with a lot more than property damage."
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