It's customary in news stories, even casual, bloggy ones, to assume that one is innocent until proven guilty. It's a good way to go because a) it could be true and b) we could be sued.

But here's one guy who's testing the limits of journalistic convention. Either this driver was drunk, or he's got a serious case of epilepsy (see how we qualified it?). Dude's Prius backed into police cruiser in Laguna Beach over the weekend then moved forward and crashed into a pole.

Wait. Maybe this was one of those Toyotas with the (alleged) acceleration problems. In any case, here's the video of this Prius in action, courtesy of the Orange County Register.

The double collision happened after the driver was pulled over for a DUI investigation on Broadway Street and South Coast Highway about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, according to the Register.

Suspect Christian Aparicio, 42, apparently got out of the car but might have left it in reverse, sending it crashing into the patrol car behind it, police said.

Then he dove in, apparently putting it in drive and crashing it into a pole and a water and air dispenser, causing water to flow, a police official told the Reg. It was all caught on the cruiser's dash-cam.

It'll come in handy in court.

Yeah, Aparicio was arrested on suspicion of crashing under the influence.

Priuses (Priusi?) do have tricky little shifters closer to the dashboard than the floorboard. Could have been an honest mistake.

Allegedly.

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