CHP: Teen driver fled fatal Petaluma crash

A 17-year-old boy from Petaluma is suspected of walking away from a fatal car wreck Saturday morning on Bodega Avenue after crashing a pickup into an oncoming Mazda sedan, killing a 51-year-old Napa man, the CHP said Thursday.

Using vehicle registration information, investigators determined the teen’s identity soon after the 4 a.m. crash, which occurred west of King Road, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said. The teen’s name was not released because he is a juvenile.

“We contacted him on the morning of the collision to see if he was impaired and he was not,” Sloat said. “At this point, we are still investigating.”

Ubaldo German-Arias Mendoza, 51, of Napa was killed in the crash when his 1994 Mazda sedan collided with the 2007 Chevrolet Colorado driven by the teen, the CHP said.

Mendoza was trapped inside his car and died at the scene.

After an initial investigation of the accident, the CHP said the pickup was traveling east on Bodega Avenue when it drifted off the edge of the road and onto a soft dirt shoulder, striking two mailboxes. The truck then spun around and traveled backward before slamming into the Mazda.

Sloat said investigators were still determining who was at fault, and whether the teen had been texting or using a cellphone.

Sloat said the teen, who was questioned Wednesday at the CHP’s offices in Rohnert Park, said he was involved in the accident and left the scene.

“He said he couldn’t see anybody else around, left the scene and walked home,” Sloat said, adding that the teen came in for questioning with an attorney.

Specific charges, if any, that would be filed against the teen would depend on the results of the investigation, but that at minimum, he would be facing felony hit-and-run, according to Sloat.