Hit And Run In Groveland
Groveland, CA — The CHP reports both drivers were arrested after a crash on Highway 120 one for leaving the scene the other for DUI.
The wreck happened just before midnight on Thursday along Highway 120 near Ferretti Road. The CHP reports that Jeffery Bedel, 43, from Indiana was driving a 2016 Hyundai Sonata westbound on Highway 120 when he made a left turn in front of Jeffery Cooper, 26, of Groveland riding a 1976 Yamaha motorcycle. Cooper was not able to stop and was ejected from his bike onto the hood of the Sonata. Bedel left the scene but was followed to a nearby hotel by a witness who escorted him back to the scene. Officer Steve Griefer states explains, “During questioning, it was determined that Cooper was driving his motorcycle over the legal limit and he was taken into custody for drinking and driving. Bedel was driving a vehicle that had been reported as stolen out of San Francisco from a car rental.” Bedel was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle and hit and run.
Griefer noted the irony of the accident stating, “Very rarely is the person who is operating a motor vehicle under the influence not found at fault for the traffic collision. However, we have a good eye-witness that says the Hyundai turned in front of the motorcycle.”
Cooper complained of pain to lower extremities but refused treatment. He paid his $5,000 bail and was released from the Tuolumne County Jail on Friday. Bedel remains in jail on $10,000 bail. Griefer notes that he was very tight lipped about the stolen vehicle, stating, “When I asked Bedel about the stolen vehicle he made no comment either acknowledging of disavowing whether he knew the vehicle was stolen.”
