You don't have to be driving a car to be accused of drunken driving -sometimes even a lawnmower operator will get pulled over. Or, even a backhoe operator.

At about 11:50 p.m., California Highway Patrol Officer Thomas Herve responded to reports of a single-car crash on Spring Hill Road east of Pacheco Avenue in Petaluma. The officer found a 1996 Ford Mustang in a ditch but no one inside.

Herve then saw a backhoe coming down the road. The driver, Juan Pablo Hernandez, 31, of Petaluma, told the officer that the Mustang was his, said CHP Officer Jonathan Sloat.

Hernandez explained that he had driven the Mustang into the ditch because of the rain and had walked home to get the backhoe, which he intended to use to pull the car free, Officer Sloat said.

Herve came to suspect that Hernandez was not completely sober. The officer administered a field sobriety test, which Hernandez allegedly flunked.

Hernandez was arrested on suspicion of two counts of driving under the influence - one for crashing his Ford, and the second for returning to the scene in the backhoe. He was also booked for allegedly driving without a license.

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