On Sunday, December 12th, 2021, at 10:25 pm, the Turlock Police Department, Stanislaus State Police Department, Turlock Fire Department, and American Medical Response were dispatched to a reported vehicle collision with injuries at the intersection of W Monte Vista Ave and Countryside Dr, Turlock.

When crews arrived on scene, they located a single vehicle involved, a white Chevrolet sedan, that had collided with a traffic light pole.

The vehicle had one occupant, its driver, identified as Marlin Benson, 21, of Oroville. He suffered minor injuries but refused to be transported to the hospital.

The vehicle sustained moderate damage and was deemed inoperable as a result of the collision, requiring it to be towed away.

It is currently unknown how the collision occurred, however, Benson was traveling eastbound on W Monte Vista Ave approaching Countryside Dr when it did.

Benson admitted to officers that he had been drinking, so they asked him to participate in standardized field sobriety tests and to blow into a preliminary alcohol screening device. The results of those tests gave officers probable cause to believe that Benson was intoxicated.

Benson was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of driving while intoxicated.