Drunken Cabbie Goes Wrong Way on Highway 1

A California Highway Patrol plane was called to sleuth out a Santa Cruz taxi driver who went the wrong way down Highway 1 in Aptos and caused other drivers to crash Monday afternoon, the CHP reported.

Steve Sharek, 57, got on the highway at State Park Drive just before 2 p.m. but drove north in the southbound lanes, according to the CHP.

A 47-year-old Aptos woman driving a Suburban and another Aptos woman, 57, driving a Toyota Avalon collided with each other when they tried to avoid Sharek's cab.

Sharek fled in his taxi but several people called 911. The CHP contacted the cab company and sent a fixed-wing aircraft up to search for the taxi.

The CHP reportedly found Sharek around 6 p.m. on Market Street in Santa Cruz. He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and hit and run.