A 54-year-old Salida driver was arrested Saturday evening after he was determined to be drunk as he lost control of his westbound Hatch Road vehicle and crashed into oncoming cars.

The crash occurred at 6:49 p.m. in the 1600 block of Hatch Road.

Police say that Jesse Abina also tried to flee the scene after causing damage to three other vehicles.

Officers came on the scene after hearing that a vehicle had struck several cars, hit a tree and tried to leave. Their investigation determined that Abina was traveling westbound on Hatch Road at about 25 mph but lost control of his car as it crossed Richland Avenue. Abina's vehicle went over the raised center median and struck a second vehicle that was stopped in the #1 lane of eastbound Hatch waiting for a green light. That collision pushed the second car backward and collide into a third vehicle behind it. Abina's vehicle veered off the road and struck a tree in front of dd's discount store. After hitting the tree, Abina tried to back up to flee the scene but a group of men stopped him by opening the car and taking the keys from the ignition.

Abina displayed signs and symptoms of intoxication and was ultimately arrested for DUI. A cold 12-pack of beer was found in the vehicle along with one cold open beer.