The Placer County Sheriff Office’s pursuit of a reported suicidal man ended in a crash in Colfax Monday evening.
At 5:42 p.m., a caller to the sheriff’s 911 dispatch center reported that Joel Bumgarner, 38, had taken pills, was drinking alcohol and had driven away from his Auburn home. A deputy saw him driving on Bowman Road and attempted to stop him, but he proceeded onto eastbound Interstate 80. Bumgarner drove between 50-75 miles per hour and exited at Colfax. He drove at high speeds down South Canyon Way, ran a stop sign, and turned onto a cul-de-sac.
At the Sierra RV Center on South Canyon Way, he crashed into a parked fifth-wheel trailer and got his vehicle stuck.
Bumgarner attempted to dislodge his vehicle by ramming a patrol car and four additional fifth-wheel trailers. One of the trailers was pushed into a metal building and a PG&E box was also damaged. He exited his car and started to walk away, refusing to stop as ordered. A deputy applied his Taser and he was taken into custody and then to a local hospital due to the medication he reportedly ingested.
The Placer County Sheriff Office’s Critical Accident Response Team is investigating the accident. The man is being held at the Placer County Jail on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, driving under the influence, evading, vandalism and resisting arrest. His bail is set at $100,000.