Teen Questioned, Not Arrested In Connection With Fatal Hit-and-Run That Killed Napa Man

The California Highway Patrol has questioned but not arrested a 17-year-old driver who was involved in a head-on collision west of Petaluma that killed a Napa man on Friday.

The 17-year-old Petaluma boy was questioned at CHP headquarters in Rohnert Park Wednesday with his attorney present, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said. The teen was not arrested in order to give the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office time to review the evidence and build a case for possible manslaughter charges, Sloat said.

[Previous: County Coroner IDs Napa Man Killed in Weekend Hit-and-Run Near Petaluma.]

The boy is not considered a flight risk, Sloat said.

He was driving a 2007 Chevrolet Colorado east on Bodega Avenue west of King Road around 4 a.m. Friday when it went off the road onto the shoulder and struck two mailboxes, according to the CHP.

The impact caused the pickup to spin 180 degrees and back onto the roadway where it traveled backwards into the path of a westbound 1994 Mazda 323, the CHP said.

[Previous: CHP Searching For Suspect in Deadly Hit-and-Run.]

Ubaldo German-Arias Mendoza, 51, of Napa, the Mazda driver, was trapped in his vehicle and died.

The teen driving the Chevrolet fled the crash scene, but he was contacted by CHP officers later that morning.

Impairment was ruled out as a factor in the deadly crash, Sloat said.

[Previous: Napa Man Killed in Hit-and-Run Near Petaluma Saturday Morning.]

--Bay City News