Marin Coroner: Novato Man Killed After Car Crashes Into Creek

MARIN COUNTY, CA – Authorities now know the name of the man who died Monday after crashing his car in a creek near Novato.

The Marin County Sheriff's Coroner identified the victim as 20-year-old Novato resident Jose Enrique Hernandez.

After receiving a call about an upside down vehicle at the base of an embankment, deputies with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, paramedics with the Marin County Fire Department and officers with the California Highway Patrol responded to the scene around 8:40 a.m. Monday.

Hernandez, who was driving a white Nissan Altima, failed to negotiate a slight left curve in the road, California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Barclay said. The car slid into a cement pillar attached to a bridge causing the vehicle to overturn, fall 15 feet down a sheer drop and land on its roof in a creek that runs beneath Novato Boulevard., Barclay said.

Hernandez, who worked as a ranch hand near Novato, was last seen leaving the ranch Sunday evening, and his death occurred sometime overnight, Chief Deputy Coroner Darrell Harris said.

There is no evidence another vehicle was involved in the crash, Harris said. Although the cause of the crash has not yet been determined, early indicators are that speed, severe weather conditions and significant lack of tire tread on the vehicle may have contributed to the solo vehicle crash, Harris said.

– Bay City News contributed to this report.

– Photo courtesy of Marin County Fire