SONOMA COUNTY, CA — The Sonoma County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office identified a woman killed Monday in a Guerneville Road head-on collision authorities allege was caused by a suspected DUI driver.
Maria Jimenez Rosas, a 56-year-old resident of Santa Rosa, was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision reported at 5:39 a.m. Monday.
The California Highway Patrol responded and determined a BMW X6 crossover that was traveling eastbound on Guerneville Road —west of Laguna Road — and crossed over the double-yellow lines into the opposing lane of travel where it collided head-on with a Toyota Rav4 SUV.
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The impact caused major damage to both vehicles and fatal injuries to Rosas, who was found trapped inside the Rav4.
The driver of the BMW was taken by ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of major, not life-threatening injuries.
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“The BMW driver was placed under arrest for driving under the influence of a controlled substance,” CHP Spokesperson David deRutte said.
Once cleared from the hospital, the BMW driver will be booked at Sonoma County jail on suspicion of felony DUI, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and drug possession charges, deRutte said.
The CHP has not disclosed her name.
“She is still at the hospital and we’re expecting it could still be a couple of days,” deRutte told Patch. “I will release her name once she is booked.”
The CHP asked anyone with information about the crash to call the Santa Rosa CHP office at 707-806-5600.
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