DEADLY CRASH RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT ROAD:SOME MOTORISTS DOUBT SAFETY OF 8-MILE STRETCH OF HWY. 101 NORTH OF SANTA ROSA

A profusion of orange plastic lane markers delineated the Highway 101 crash

scene Tuesday where a Santa Rosa mother was killed and her three children

injured when their minivan crashed through a Windsor construction zone.

There appear to be no witnesses to last week's crash, and on Tuesday

investigators took aerial photos of the site as part of an accident review

that may take another three to four weeks, CHP Sgt. Robert Mota said.

''The indication is she allowed the vehicle to drive off the roadway,''

Mota said. ''We look at the person, the vehicle and the environment. Were

there distractions in the car? Was she unfamiliar with the roadway, was there

an issue with signage in the roadway? Those are all the things we will look

at.''

The minivan driven by Elucina Moyado Guevara, 39, went into the center

divide of the freeway while headed to Santa Rosa just north of Shiloh Road

about 9 p.m. Thursday, in a construction zone where the road veers to the

right around work on a bridge over a drainage ditch.

The Dodge Caravan hit the newly poured concrete bridge deck, which is about

two feet above the level of the ground, bounced to the middle of the deck and

burst into flames.

Three children in the minivan were able to crawl out of a window to safety,

but Moyado died in the blaze.

The crash occurred in a construction zone that stretches eight miles from

Steele Lane in Santa Rosa to Windsor-River Road in Windsor.

The contractor, O.C. Jones Construction of Berkeley, is adding a lane in

the median, which requires shifting traffic lanes to rebuild the bridges and

pave the new lanes.

In Cal/OSHA records going back to 2000, O.C. Jones has no recorded safety

violations.

The crash has caused motorists to question the safety of that stretch of

road, where concrete railings line the road, lanes veer around the ongoing

work, there are changes in the pavement surface and there is limited room for

merging traffic.

Peter Lewis of Fulton, who said he has undergone driver training to race

vintage sports cars at Infineon Raceway, said he drives that section of

freeway often and believes it is unsafe.

''My feeling is that if it bothers me, how is it for the average driver

with quarrelling kids in the back seat or talking on a cell phone? I am amazed

there are not more accidents,'' Lewis said.

The CHP and Caltrans, however, said they don't believe the construction

zone is unsafe.

The work is being done under the supervision of Caltrans engineers, said

Lauren Wonder, Caltrans' director of public information.

''Those are people's opinions versus what is meeting standards,'' Wonder

said.

Mota said he also believes the roadway is safe.

''It is clearly a construction zone, people have to slow down and be active

in their driving,'' Mota said. ''Unfortunately some people don't.''

Mota said if officers notice something they think is a problem, they'll

relate it to Caltrans.

''A month ago, they did paving and the edge was crumbling. It was causing

pebbles to be out onto the roadway,'' Mota said. ''We called Caltrans, and the

contractor had to sweep it.''

The construction zone speed limit is 55 mph, at least one CHP officer is

assigned when construction is under way and numerous tickets for speeding have

been issued.

From June 1 to mid-August, 240 citations were issued, virtually all for

speeding, Mota said.

The CHP also points out that during construction, there have been a third

less accidents during the same nine-month period a year ago.

Sonoma County Coroner's Sgt. Clint Shubel said an autopsy has been

completed, but the results are being withheld pending the outcome of

toxicology tests, which will take two to three weeks.

Mota said the lead investigator is Officer Julie Powell, a veteran

investigator. He said she has interviewed the children but is not releasing

any information yet regarding cause of the crash.

You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or

bob.norberg@pressdemocrat.com.