[www.pe.com]

Thomas the Tank Engine train rides at a Perris museum will continue this weekend, despite a scare from an out-of-control vehicle that drove onto the 120-acre grounds and nearly hit guests Sunday afternoon, Nov. 5.

“We remain open for business,” Darcy Burke, a spokeswoman for the Orange Empire Railway Museum, said Monday, Nov. 6.

The day before, families eager for rides on Thomas and his friend, Percy, jumped out of the way of an SUV that Riverside County Sheriff’s Department officials say was driven by a suspected intoxicated driver.

Carlos Jaime Gabaldon, 37, of Romoland, was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run with injury and felony driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or above while causing injury, authorities said.

Deputies from the Perris Police Department were at the museum and saw a Brown Chevrolet Tahoe enter the grounds by way of the railroad tracks, according to a sheriff’s news release. The SUV then veered off the tracks and onto a walkway, narrowly missing adults and children. Some parents threw their children over a fence in a desperate move to get them to safety.

Gabaldon does not appear to have a criminal record in Riverside County, based on online Superior Court records. He remained in custody Monday at the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center in French Valley. Bail was $50,000.
Authorities said two were hurt; none were hit by the vehicle.