The crash involving an 18-year-old driver who swerved across Petaluma Hill Road in a moment of distraction led to the 26th vehicle-related death reported on Sonoma County roads since the start of the year.
The young driver's mother, 43-year-old Shelli Shimmel of Santa Rosa, died in the Oct. 8 crash.
It was the sixth fatal collision this year involving a young driver between the ages of 18 to 22.
Distracted driving is a growing element in fatal crashes, and drivers under 20 years old represent the greatest proportion of distracted drivers involved in such crashes, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Still, deaths connected to teen drivers have been on a steady decline for about three decades, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported. Local CHP officials credit the drop with laws that restrict young drivers.
"We've definitely seen a drop in serious injury and fatal accidents involving teenagers," CHP Officer Jon Sloat said. "That's a reflection of the graduated licensing laws. Having an adult driver in the car with that teenager in the first year gets them into better habits earlier."
A report released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the number of deaths connected to teen drivers aged 16 and 17 dropped 36 percent nationwide from 2004 to 2008.
In California, 1,054 people died in 1982 in crashes involving drivers between 15 and 20 years old, the administration found. In 2009, 476 people died in such crashes for the same age group, a 54 percent drop since 1982.
Crashes are most likely in a driver's first year on the road, and license restrictions are key to keeping crashes in decline, the centers reported. Voters in 49 states and the District of Columbia have passed licensing laws that restrict when teens can drive and who can be in the car with them.
In California, teen drivers must stay off the roads between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. during their first year behind the wheel, unless they're accompanied by a licensed driver 25 years or older, according to restrictions set by the Brady Jared Teen Driver Safety Act of 1996.
They also can't have passengers under 20 years old without a licensed driver at least 25 years old in the car.
"It gives teens more supervised time behind the wheel for that first year," Sloat said.
Distracted driving is a key challenge among young drivers, according to national data.
Distraction rose as a factor in fatal collisions from 8 percent in 2004 to 11 percent in 2008, the U.S. Department of Transpiration reported.
Drivers 20 years old and younger represented the greatest proportion of distracted drivers in fatal crashes, 16 percent, in 2008. Drivers between 20 and 29 years old represented 12 percent of the distracted drivers in fatal crashes.
"The only way you can connect distracted driving and age is inexperience," Sloat said. "If you're distracted and you realize you're in a bad situation, somebody with more years of driving time will probably, in most cases, react differently."
On Oct. 8, 18-year-old Sebastian Hollingworth, of Santa Rosa, told officers he looked down at money in his lap for mere moments as he drove down Petaluma Hill Road with his mother and three sisters in the car.
When he looked up, he had crossed into the oncoming traffic lane. He lost control of the vehicle as he tried to get back into the correct lane and crashed.
His mother, Shelli Shimmel, died in the crash. His sisters suffered major injuries, including 6-year-old Haillie Shimmel, who was brought out of a medically induced coma Tuesday.
"He wasn't reckless, he wasn't impaired. He just took his eyes off the road for a second," Sloat said.
Other vehicle-related deaths in Sonoma County involving drivers 22 years or younger:
- Ernest James Homen Leo, 20, of Monte Rio died July 1 after he lost control of his pickup and hit a tree along the Bohemian Highway in Camp Meeker.
- Jeremy Robert Nickel, 21, of Santa Rosa died June 15 when he crashed his motorcycle on Windsor River Road. Alcohol may have been a factor, the CHP said.
- Sarah Ann York, 22, of Eldridge was killed Feb. 6 in a head-on collision with a pickup driven by Mario Dominguez, 24, of Sonoma on a Sonoma Valley stretch of Highway 12. Three other men sustained serious to minor injuries.
- Alysia Beaty, 20, of Berkeley died April 29 after she veered off Highway 101 south of Petaluma and crashed into a tree.
- Michelle Cordova, 15, died Jan. 27 when she was struck in a West College Avenue crosswalk by driver Orion Swank, 22, of Santa Rosa.
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