Hit-and-run driver sought in fatal Petaluma crash

A hit-and-run driver suspected of causing a crash that killed a 51-year-old Napa man early Saturday morning west of Petaluma is still at large, the CHP said.

The accident occurred just after 4 a.m. on Bodega Avenue near King Road.

The CHP said a 2007 Chevy pickup traveling east on Bodega Avenue drifted off the edge of the roadway onto the soft dirt shoulder and struck two mailboxes. The force of the impact caused the truck to spin 180 degrees. The truck crossed back into the road and continued traveling backwards. The Chevy collided with a 1994 Mazda.

The driver of the Mazda was trapped inside the car in the impact, the CHP said. He died at the scene. The CHP was withholding the name of the victim pending notification of next of kin. The driver of the Chevy fled on foot.

The CHP searched for the suspect in the surrounding area, and used a CHP airplane with a heat sensing camera. The CHP is actively working on leads to identify the driver of the Chevy pick up. Anyone with information on the case should call the CHP at 588-1412.

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Brown at 521-5206 or matt.brown@pressdemocrat.com.