Contra Costa County prosecutors filed several charges this week against a Vallejo man accused of drunkenly plowing his car into a Walnut Creek farmers market and critically injuring two women.
The district attorney’s office charged Jose Manuel Chavez, 33, with two felony counts of driving under the influence causing injury and felony hit-and-run causing injury, the agency announced Thursday. Chavez also faces a misdemeanor charge of driving without a valid license after a DUI offense.
Chavez is being held on $260,000 bail at the West County Detention Facility in Richmond, and he is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon.
The crash happened at about 5:15 p.m. Sunday while vendors were setting up the weekly Walnut Creek farmers market on Locust Street between Cole and Lacassie avenues. After smashing into the farmers market, the car continued on for another mile before police spotted it entering Interstate 680 near Lawrence Avenue.
Within minutes, officers pulled over the damaged car and arrested Chavez. Walnut Creek police suspect he was driving drunk at the time of the crash.
The wreck left the two women seriously injured Sunday morning, and they remained remained in critical condition Monday, according to Staci DeShasier, executive director of Contra Costa Certified Farmers’ Markets Inc. A more recent update was not immediately available.
The farmers market was closed Sunday while officers investigated the wreck. DeShasier said the farmers market is expected to re-open on Sunday.
