PRESCRIPTION DRUGS BLAMED FOR WRONG-WAY SPEEDER

Prescription medication was blamed for a wrong-way speeder on Highway 62 Tuesday evening. According to a Sheriff’s report, about 6:25, multiple drivers started calling 911 to report that a man, later identified as Henry Holguin, 73, was driving eastbound on the highway in the westbound lane, starting at Park Boulevard in Joshua Tree. Some witnesses said Holguin was driving at least 100 miles per hour. Some drivers followed Holguin as he traveled eastbound on the highway, reporting from various locations, such as Indian Cove, near the Kingdom Hall; the Twentynine Palms Stater Brothers, until finally, a deputy was able to pull Holguin over near Split Rock and the Highway in Twentynine Palms. Along the way, Holguin hit and damaged two cars; one near Sunrise Road, and the other near Canyon. Holguin is reported to have told the deputy, he “thought he had hit something in the road.” Henry Holguin was cited for non-injury hit-and-run, and driving under the influence of prescription drugs. He was cited and treated at Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree.