San Luis Obispo police arrested a 32-year-old Monterey man after he allegedly drove recklessly through downtown streets, nearly striking pedestrians on a sidewalk, then abandoned his SUV and fled into a nearby creek when the people he almost hit confronted him. Officers eventually found him hiding in bushes near the water.
According to sanluisobispo.com, police received calls about a reckless driver in downtown San Luis Obispo and were notified about the situation at 9:45 p.m. The driver, identified as Michael Melicia, allegedly came dangerously close to pedestrians walking on a sidewalk before stopping his Mercedes SUV on a nearby street.
Police say the people Melicia nearly struck confronted him after he parked, and that's when he took off on foot, running into a creek rather than facing them or waiting for officers, per the same account. Officers ultimately tracked him down and found him hiding in bushes adjacent to the creek, not far from where he'd left his vehicle.
Vodka Bottle Found Inside the SUV
Inside the abandoned Mercedes, officers discovered an open liter bottle of Tito's vodka, the outlet reports. Melicia was arrested.
He was booked into San Luis Obispo County Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence and driving on a suspended license, the report notes.
Downtown SLO Has Seen Dangerous Driver Incidents Before
This isn't the first time San Luis Obispo police have dealt with a driver endangering people downtown. Back in December 2022, the City of San Luis Obispo reported that a driver in a maroon Ford F150 intentionally drove head-on toward pursuing officers at a parking lot on the 3500 block of Broad Street, forcing them to swerve out of the way before the pursuit was called off. That driver, 19-year-old Tyler Grant Stevens of Paso Robles, was booked on felony assault with a deadly weapon and felony reckless evading charges.
No such additional charges have been reported in Melicia's case so far, and it remains unclear whether prosecutors have filed any formal charges beyond the suspicion of DUI and driving on a suspended license cited at booking. The incident adds to a string of reckless-driving cases that have put San Luis Obispo police on alert for drivers endangering pedestrians in the city's downtown core.
