Alameda Woman Killed When Car Crashes Into Swollen Creek

MENDOCINO COUNTY, CA - A young woman from Alameda died sometime between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning after running her car off a Mendocino County highway and ending up in the fast moving waters of a frigid creek, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Jenna Santos, 19, was driving the car when it somehow left the roadway of U.S. Highway 101 south of Underpass Road, between Laytonville and Willits, at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the CHP.

The car, also carrying a passenger, a 19-year-old Castro Valley woman, ended up almost fully submerged in the waters of Outlet Creek, about 300 feet from shore.

The 2004 Toyota Corolla, obscured by the water and surrounding trees, wasn't visible from the road, according to the CHP.

The passenger was able to climb out of the car and spent most of the night stranded on a tree in the creek. At dawn, she swam to the shore, climbed up the embankment to the highway and flagged down a passing motorist.

The Little Lake Volunteer Fire Department's water rescue team recovered Santos' body from the car and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other woman was taken to Howard Memorial Hospital in Willits and treated for minor injuries and exposure, according to the CHP.

— Bay City News; Image by Renee Schiavone, Patch