DUI arrests, deaths rise over holiday weekend

Two fatal wrecks over weekend raise the death toll on Sonoma County roadways to six people in three weeks.|

Thanksgiving weekend saw the continuation of a grim trend on Sonoma County roadways with two people killed in ?vehicle crashes.

The latest fatalities raise the county death toll in crashes to six in three weeks, with alcohol being in factor in at least five of those, the California Highway Patrol said.

CHP officers arrested 18 people suspected of driving under the influence from Wednesday to Sunday, up from 13 arrests in 2016 and 17 arrests in 2015 over the same period, Sloat said.

Santa Rosa police made 10 DUI arrests from Wednesday to Sunday, according to initial tallies, Santa Rosa police Sgt. Michael Chad Heiser said. There were 11 drunken driving arrests in 2016 and eight arrests in 2015 over the same time period, he said.

While “Wednesday before Thanksgiving is a notorious night at the (Santa Rosa) bars downtown,” Heiser said, police made just two DUI arrests, with another three on Thanksgiving.

The first fatality over the holiday weekend occurred Friday around 5:30 p.m. when Thomas Chadd, 27, of Citrus Heights and a female friend were riding in a side-by-side utility vehicle with a roll bar when he apparently lost control of the all-terrain vehicle, which rolled down a 100-foot embankment near Pole Mountain and Austin Creek roads in Cazadero.

Chadd suffered major head injuries and died. The CHP determined he was intoxicated, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said. The woman wasn’t injured.

The second Sonoma County fatality occurred about 9 p.m. Saturday when Sonoma resident Karen Quackenbush, 38, died after crashing head-on into an RV on Lakeville Highway near Old Lakeville Road No. 1 when her small sedan crossed over double-yellow lines.

Quackenbush wasn’t wearing a seat belt. Whether alcohol or drugs was a factor remains under investigation, Sloat said.

Five people in the RV had moderate to minor injuries.

It was the second fatal crash on Lakeville Highway this month. The first involved suspected drunken driver Logo Tevaseu, 35, of Santa Rosa, who authorities said crossed over double-yellow lines and slammed head-on into a 21-year-old Sonoma State University student’s vehicle Nov. 5. Paulette Quiba of Oakley was killed, and Tevaseu was charged with murder.

On Nov. 14, around 7:45 a.m., Boyes Hot Springs resident Estefania Soto, 27, was driving her daughter, Kaliyah Adkins, 7, to school in Sonoma when they were struck by a vehicle on Highway 12. Soto died at the scene, and Adkins died days later.

The CHP arrested Jose Manuel Lopez-Perez, 25, of Santa Rosa on two counts of murder. The CHP believes he crossed double-yellow lines to make an illegal pass. He had a prior DUI conviction in 2013.

On Nov. 19, Lakeport resident Teodulo Tovar Jr., 29, was driving south on Highway 101 in Petaluma when he failed to see warning signs for a construction zone.

He crashed into a concrete abutment head-on, killing his father, Teodulo Tovar, 66, and badly injuring his 57-year-old mother, both of Lakeport. He suffered life-threatening injuries and was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and felony drunken driving.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.