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Man diverts wine truck for solo freeway tasting
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It's not unusual that a person might partake in some wine to help them through these difficult times, but one man's attempt to imbibe some vino on Tuesday in Turlock went beyond the extreme.

Gabriel Moreno, 39, of Hayward attempted to get his fill of wine and then some by drinking it straight out of a tanker truck that was traveling along Highway 99.

The imbibing started shortly after noon on Tuesday when a driver of a Cherokee Freight Lines tractor tanker noticed Moreno trying to get his attention.

The tanker was on northbound Highway 99, near Fulkerth Road when Moreno pulled his vehicle to the left and started trying to get the Cherokee driver's attention. Thinking maybe he had a mechanical issue with his combination, the Cherokee driver pulled to the right shoulder of the freeway, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Thomas Olsen.

Moreno also pulled over to the shoulder and then proceeded to run to the platform area between the tractor and the tanker. The Cherokee driver told officers he thought this was pretty odd, so he decided to drive away.

The Cherokee driver started easing back on to the highway, thinking he was leaving the odd incident behind him, but he hadn't gone very far when he noticed the gauge on his tractor was indicating he was losing fluids from the tanker.

He pulled over to the shoulder of the freeway around Monte Vista Avenue and went to check the tanker.

The Cherokee driver found Moreno under the tanker. He had opened a valve and was trying to drink up as much of the red wine that was pouring out. He also was only wearing his underwear by this point.

The CHP and the Turlock Police Department both responded to the scene. Moreno was arrested on suspicion of vandalism and driving on a suspended license and was booked into the Stanislaus County Jail.

The attempt wasted more than 100 gallons of wine.