Petaluma Man Dies In Wrong-Way Crash On U.S. Highway 101

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — One driver died and the other suffered major injuries in a wrong-way crash early Sunday morning on U.S. Highway 101 in Sonoma County, the California Highway Patrol said.

Local CHP officers started receiving reports at 1:58 a.m. Sunday about a wrong-way driver on U.S. 101 near Hearn Avenue in south Santa Rosa, CHP Officer David deRutte said.

"Within one minute of the initial call, a CHP unit was in the area searching for the vehicle and subsequently located a two-vehicle crash on US-101 northbound, near Yolanda Avenue," deRutte said. "Medical personnel arrived on scene and the male driver of a Toyota Tacoma was pronounced deceased at the scene."

The Sonoma County Sheriff-Coroner's Office identified the driver Monday as Justino Gomez Rojas, a 36-year-old Petaluma man.

CHP's preliminary investigation indicated Rojas was driving the Toyota Tacoma pickup truck southbound in the northbound lanes when he collided with a Ford Explorer SUV that was traveling northbound, causing major damage to both vehicles.

A woman who was driving the Explorer was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of major but not life-threatening injuries, the CHP said.

Northbound traffic was diverted off the highway at the Yolanda Avenue off-ramp until the CHP's investigation was complete and the northbound lanes were reopened at 3:52 a.m. Sunday.

The CHP asked anyone with information about the crash to call the Santa Rosa Area CHP Office at 707-588-1400.