Drunken driver enters SF subway tunnel

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The man who drove his sport utility vehicle into a downtown San Francisco subway tunnel Thursday was drunk, authorities said.

Muni Metro spokesman Paul Rose said Scott Mitchell, 40, of Sebastopol, entered the tunnel near the intersection of Church Street and Duboce Avenue just before 6 a.m. and nearly made it to the Van Ness Station before getting stuck on the tracks, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Service was interrupted for more than 2 hours as police worked to remove the SUV from the tracks. Trains were moving below normal speeds by 8:30 a.m., as repairs were needed to restore full service, Rose said.

Mitchell was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, failure to obey a stop sign and driving on train tracks, the newspaper said.