On April 30 at about 4:30 a.m., Santa Monica police officers received a radio call of a traffic accident involving a vehicle and a utility pole in the 2300 block of Ocean Park Boulevard.
A black Audi A3 jumped the curb, drove up onto a sidewalk, struck a pole and then hit a brick wall. The officers found the driver, who was the sole occupant of the Audi, already out of the car and seated on the sidewalk.
During her investigation of the accident and her interaction with the driver, George Nicolas-Nader, the handling officer observed several symptoms of alcohol intoxication, including watery eyes, a strong odor of alcoholic beverages, poor coordination and balance, and difficulty concentrating and multi-tasking.
A preliminary screening was positive for alcohol; a subsequent breath test in the jail confirmed those results.
The driver was booked for driving under the influenceand DUI with a blood alcohol concentration over 0.08%. Nicolas-Nader, 20, of Santa Monica, had bail set at $5,000.
