Services set for Cloverdale teen killed in street race

A town in mourning will turn out Thursday for a rosary and viewing service for 16-year-old Angelica Contreras, a Cloverdale high school student who was killed during what investigators suspect was teenage street race on a rural road outside city limits.

Followed on Friday with a Catholic funeral mass and burial, the celebrations of Contreras’ life will take place even as questions remain about why, according to investigators, the girl’s friends did not tell authorities she was missing immediately after the crash.

Contreras’ body was found Saturday morning by a passing cyclist, about eight hours after the Friday night accident. Authorities have since learned she had been struck by an out-of-control Volkswagen Beetle and thrown 150 feet toward the banks of the Russian River.

Contreras’ sister, Melissa, said her family has been flooded with grief even as they have been comforted by an outpouring of support - including food and flowers brought to their door - from the community.

“Everyone in Cloverdale has been wonderful and has united over this tragedy,” Melissa Contreras said.

Yet, they are vexed by the unanswered questions about why no one looked for the girl the night of the collision, leaving Contreras’ body undiscovered on the river bank throughout the night.

“We want justice. We want to know what really happened,” Melissa Contreras said.

Angelica Contreras was with a group of eight Cloverdale teenagers who on Friday drove to Crocker Road east of town to watch two boys race their cars, CHP investigators said. A 16-year-old boy behind the wheel of the Volkswagen was racing against a 17-year-old boy driving a 2008 BMW 535i sedan, the CHP said. The boys raced east on Crocker Road, turned around and were heading west as they approached a bridge over the Russian River where the road becomes East First Street. A passenger was in each vehicle, two teens stood as lookouts and Contreras was with two girls, close friends according to her family, along a concrete retaining wall at a dirt pullout near the bridge.

The Volkswagen apparently lost control and spun out, smashing into the concrete barrier. Authorities said it appears the girls with Contreras didn’t notice she was thrown in the chaos of the collision.

CHP officials have said they are still investigating why they weren’t aware the girl was missing. In addition to the emergency responders, including firefighters and officers with Cloverdale police and the CHP, word of the crash brought about a dozen parents and other teenagers to the scene. Officer Jon Sloat said that some teenagers have said they thought Contreras left the scene to avoid getting in trouble because of the street race.

A Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman declined to release any preliminary information about what was learned during an autopsy, completed Monday, including any indications of whether Contreras died on impact.

The family has asked a lawyer to help them get answers as the investigation unfolds.

“As we unravel the facts, I want to ensure the investigations were done properly and thoroughly so the District Attorney can fully evaluate and adjudicate as necessary and to the highest level those who were culpable,” said the family’s attorney, Melinda Guzman.

The rosary and viewing will be held from 4 to 10 p.m. Thursday at the Healdsburg Mortuary, 9660 Redwood Hwy. in Windsor. A funeral mass will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at St. John’s Catholic Church, 208 Matheson St., Healdsburg. A burial will follow at Oak Mount Cemetery, 601 Piper St., Healdsburg.

An account has been established at Exchange Bank: The Angelica Contreras Memorial Fund, Acct. No. 117-0045593 with Exchange Bank, 116 S. Cloverdale Blvd., Cloverdale, Calif. 95425.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.