Juan Padilla-Lopez Arrested in DUI Hit-and-Run Crash on Highway 101 [SANTA ROSA, CA]

Passenger Fatally Struck by SUV after Getting Out of Vehicle in Santa Rosa DUI Crash

 
SANTA ROSA, CA (August 12, 2019) – A man was arrested following a DUI hit-and-run crash late Monday evening in Santa Rosa.
 
According to the CHP, the crash happened just before 11:00 p.m., on Highway 101 at Bicentennial Way exit.
 
It started when an Infiniti SUV driven by 33-year-old Juan Padilla-Lopez of Santa Rosa, rear-ended a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
 
The motorcyclist was later identified as a 72-year-old Windsor man. He stayed at the scene and was able to keep his bike upright until both vehicles came to a stop in the middle lane, about 250 feet away from the initial impact.
 
Padilla-Lopez and his male passenger got out of the vehicle and attempted to run from the scene. The passenger was then fatally struck by a Toyota Landcruiser SUV, driven by an 18-year-old Ukiah woman.
 
According to reports, the woman was traveling north on Highway 101 near Steele Lane when she saw the crash ahead. She swerved to the right, but was unable to avoid striking the back of the Infiniti and the passenger.
 
Paramedics pronounced the passenger dead at the scene. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office will identify him once next of kin are properly notified.
 
A sheriff’s helicopter crew followed Padilla-Lopez who ran to the Shell Gas Station at Steele Lane. There, CHP arrested him on suspicion of DUI and hit and run.
 
Meanwhile, northbound Highway 101 was closed until 3:00 a.m., the next morning during the investigation.

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We express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victim during this time of grief.

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