BMW Driver Arrested In Crash That Killed 2, Santa Rosa Police Say

SANTA ROSA, CA — Police announced an that an arrest has been made in connection with a crash July 12 on Stony Point Road that left two people dead.

Traffic investigators served an arrest warrant Friday and took Jose Bernardo Gutierrez, 19, of Santa Rosa, into custody on suspicion of charges including second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving, the Santa Rosa Police Department said Monday in a news release.

Police allege Gutierrez was the driver of a BMW that collided at 12:12 a.m. July 12 with a Cadillac CTS sedan on Stony Point Road at Trombetta Street, killing Salvador Aguilera, 40, of Santa Rosa, and Bernardo Barragan, 45, of Pittsburg.

Both men were pronounced dead at the scene of the Southwest Santa Rosa crash.

Three people were taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment of serious but not life-threatening injuries suffered in the crash, police said at at the time.

Witnesses told police the BMW was speeding northbound on Stony Point Road at Lazzini Avenue and the Cadillac was traveling westbound on Lazzini Avenue at Stony Point Road.

"The investigation has been ongoing since the incident occurred and revealed that Gutierrez had been driving in speeds in excess of 95-100 miles per hour, drove through a red light, and at one point turned his headlights off," Santa Rosa police Sgt. Josh Ludtke said Monday. "Gutierrez had a 17-year-old passenger in the vehicle at the time of the incident."

According to Ludtke, the investigation revealed Gutierrez was stopped and cited within the past year for driving over 100 mph and was warned at that time about the dangers of reckless driving.

"Gutierrez was arrested and booked at the Sonoma County Jail on the No-Bail warrant," Ludtke said.

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