Mustang wedged on Golden Gate Bridge sidewalk

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The California Highway Patrol said an allegedly drunken man drove 400 feet onto the Golden Gate Bridge's pedestrian walkway until his Ford Mustang became wedged. Officer Andrew Barclay, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol, said Daniel Soto, 22, was intoxicated about 5:10 a.m. Tuesday when he sped through a security gate on the west side of the bridge and drove his blue Mustang about 400 feet on the sidewalk of the bridge until it became wedged between a fence and the guardrail.

"When I heard about this, I had to make a few calls to confirm I was actually reading it correctly," Barclay told KGO-TV.

Soto was checked out at a local hospital and arrested upon his release on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District spokeswoman Priya David Clemens said traffic lanes were closed for about 6 minutes at 10:15 a.m. while authorities used a reaching forklift to retrieve the car and place into onto a flatbed truck.

"The Golden Gate Bridge crews like puzzles," she said. "They certainly got a challenge this morning."