Alleged DUI Driver Found Walking Near U.S. 101 Crash: CHP

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A Petaluma man was arrested on suspicion of DUI, hit and run and violating his probation in a crash late Saturday night on northbound U.S. Highway 101 at Airport Boulevard in Santa Rosa, a spokesman for California Highway Patrol said in a news release Tuesday.

CHP Officer Jonathan Sloat said Francisco Mejia, 20, was found walking on Fulton Road near Airport Boulevard after witnesses told officers they saw the driver of a black Mercedes run from the scene of a collision with a Toyota Corolla.

Sloat said officers responded at 11:50 p.m. to the scene of the crash to find the Mercedes unoccupied in some bushes off the right shoulder of the freeway.

The driver of the Corolla, Elvis Veliz, 46, of Rohnert Park, suffered major, life-threatening injuries in the collision and was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Sloat said. His passenger, Lourdes Marcelo, 47, of Rohnert Park, was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected, causing life-threatening injuries. She was also transported to Memorial, Sloat said.

It is alleged that when CHP officers caught up with Mejia, he denied being involved in a collision.

" ... But officers noted injuries consistent with him being the driver," Sloat said. "As officers spoke to Mejia, a car drove by and parked nearby. An officer contacted the party, who stated that she was Mejia’s girlfriend and he had called for a ride. Mejia was taken back to the scene and identified by witnesses as the driver [who] fled."

Officers allegedly saw signs indicating Mejia was intoxicated so they performed a DUI evaluation which resulted in his arrest once he was medically cleared.

CHP is still investigating the crash and asks anyone who might have pertinent information to call Santa Rosa Area CHP at 707-588-1400.

Photo by Maggie Avants/Patch