Local News

SACRAMENTO (CBS 5 / AP) ― The California Highway Patrol recommended Monday that the Solano County District Attorney file reckless driving charges against state Sen. Carole Migden following an erratic 30-mile drive last month that resulted in two accidents with her state-owned vehicle.

The CHP told CBS 5 that the investigators' final report was sent to the D.A.'s office along with the recommendation that charges be brought against her. The CHP also has asked the state Department of Motor Vehicles to re-evaluate Migden's fitness to drive, CHP Sgt. Les Bishop said.

Investigators determined the 56-year-old San Francisco Democrat was at fault in two separate crashes in her 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid sport utility vehicle on May 18.

In the first crash, Migden's SUV struck a guardrail in the center median on Interstate 80 near American Canyon Road in Vallejo. The CHP investigation determined she made an "unsafe turning movement."

A short time later, she rear-ended a 2005 Honda at Beck Avenue and state Highway 12 in Fairfield, injuring a woman and her 3-year-old daughter. Investigators concluded Migden was traveling at an unsafe speed, but Bishop declined to say how fast police believe Migden was driving.

"In both collisions, inattention due to distraction by cell phone use was found to be a contributing factor," Bishop said.

Last year, Migden voted for a law that requires drivers to use a headset or other hands-free device when talking on a cell phone while driving. The law takes effect in July 2008.

Solano County Chief Deputy District Attorney Kathryn Coffer said she received the report from the CHP Monday afternoon and needs to review the case before deciding whether to file charges against the senator.

"We still have to review the 911 calls, and there's some additional investigation that we want to do. Hopefully, that will
be completed within a week to 10 days," Coffer said.

Reckless driving is a misdemeanor in most cases, unless the victims suffer great bodily injury or the driver has prior convictions for reckless driving, which prosecutors do not believe is the case with Migden, Coffer said.

The CHP received about a half-dozen emergency calls from other motorists on the day of Migden's accidents, some of whom said she nearly ran them off the road.

Migden told CBS 5 in an interview afterward that she could not recall the wild ride. In that interview, she also revealed that she was diagnosed with leukemia in 1997 and said medication she still takes daily - or a new and undiagnosed medical condition - may have been to blame.

In a statement released Monday, Migden said, "I am very sorry about the accident which I caused. I am not driving. I am in the process of undergoing a medical evaluation, and I will in no way shirk my responsibility for what happened."

Migden, who was at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Monday, declined requests from CBS 5 to further discuss the CHP's findings.

Sgt. Bishop noted that investigators conducted field sobriety tests at the time of the crash and found no indication that Migden was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. But he said the agency has filed a request for driver re-evaluation with the DMV.

"That's a tool that we have to make sure that we keep the roadways safe," he said. "Given the circumstances of these
collisions, we felt that it was an appropriate action to request that the DMV re-evaluate the senator's driving abilities."

The lawmaker, whose district covers parts of San Francisco, Marin and Sonoma counties, recently told the DMV that she would not drive until she gets a medical explanation of what caused her behavior.

The state is liable for any damages because Migden has said she was on state business at the time of her crashes.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)