Bakersfield Christmas Parade crash suspect arrested Wednesday on suspicion of DUI

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The 72-year-old man accused of driving drunk when he backed his pickup at high speed into a crowd at the Bakersfield Christmas Parade was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of drunken driving.

Alan Lewis Booth is in custody at Lerdo Jail on suspicion of DUI and driving on a license suspended or revoked for DUI, inmate booking records show.

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Booth’s attorney, Jeremy Brehmer, said Booth’s latest arrest did not involve a crash. The new offenses of which he’s accused are misdemeanors, the attorney said.

Police said Booth was arrested around 5 p.m. at Jim Burke Ford on Oak Street after officers received a report of a suspected drunken driver.

Booth, who made bail in the parade crash case, is currently being held on $1 million bail and is due in court Friday, records show.

In January, Booth pleaded not guilty to four counts of assault with a deadly weapon other than a gun, two drunken driving-related counts and misdemeanor resisting arrest after his pickup crashed into three people at the Dec. 7 parade.

Booth took a breath test that revealed his blood-alcohol content at 0.25%, more than three times the legal limit, according to police reports. Blood results showed his BAC at 0.28%, the reports say.

Arnold Rios, the eldest crash victim, suffered leg fractures and a skull fracture with a brain bleed, attorneys said.

Chris Hagan, associate attorney at Chain Cohn Clark, which is representing Rios and his family, said Thursday Rios “is not out of the wood yet” but they’re hopeful he’ll make a full recovery. He said drunken driving arrests are an epidemic in Kern County, something illustrated by Booth’s latest arrest.

“He hasn’t learned his lesson,” Hagan said.

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