Driver in crash suspected of DUI

A Redlands woman remained in jail Thursday on suspicion of drunk driving after she reportedly drove her car over a fence and onto a retaining wall in the backyard of a Corona del Mar house late Wednesday.

The driver, Erin Rae Ruff, 26, has two prior drunk driving convictions and could face 120 days in jail if convicted of a third, officials said.

Ruff is also believed to be responsible for side-swiping a car at the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and East Coast Highway before crashing into the yard of a home in the 3500 block of Lilac Avenue, police said.

The other driver in the accident said she tried to follow the car, but the driver was “driving too dangerously,” Newport Beach Police Sgt. Bill Hartford said.

Patrol officers in the police helicopter spotted a car matching the description ? it had crashed through a yard and was balancing on a retaining wall a few blocks away, Hartford said.

Firefighters arrived to find a woman still inside a white Volkswagen Jetta that was teetering on the edge of a wall over an embankment.

Firefighters used ropes and struts to stabilize the car before removing the driver, Newport Beach Fire spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz said.

Ruff was taken to Hoag Hospital with minor injuries. No one inside the home was injured in the accident, but the damage to the yard and wall was estimated at $5,000, Schulz said.

Once released by the hospital, Ruff was arrested and taken to Orange County Jail, where she was being held on $15,000 bail.

The district attorney’s office had not filed charges as of Thursday.

Hartford said police don’t know what Ruff was doing in the area or where she was headed, Hartford said.

Police said accidents like this are the reason they’re taking an aggressive stand against drunk drivers.

“This is a problem that we’re trying to address,” Hartford said.

Through a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, the Newport Beach police conduct specific DUI patrols most nights and weekends, in additional to periodic DUI checkpoints and community education.dpt.28-crash-BPhotoInfoUP1QDLNE20060428iyem4pncNEWPORT BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT(LA)Struts stabilize a Volkswagen Jetta that teeters on a Corona del Mar home’s retaining wall. The car crashed into the yard late Wednesday, and the driver was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.