Witness: Woman was weaving prior to fatal River Road crash

The Sonoma County Coroner’s Office on Tuesday identified a woman killed Monday night in a River Road crash as Holly Ann Stephens, 52, of Guerneville.

What led to the 6:15 p.m. collision in Rio Nido - the first fatal wreck of 2015 in CHP’s Sonoma County jurisdiction - remained under investigation Tuesday, according to CHP Officer Jon Sloat.

Stephens was declared dead at the scene, and the other driver apparently suffered minor injuries.

East of Canyon Two Road, headed west, Stephens’ Saturn drifted across double yellow lines into the path of a Honda CRV. The two vehicles collided, and the CRV overturned.

At least one witness told officers they’d seen the Saturn weaving just prior to the collision, Sloat said. Investigators are trying to determine whether alcohol or other issues were involved in the crash.

The CRV driver was Ricardo Romero, 30, of Santa Rosa. He was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with minor injuries to his face and left hand.

Just after the crash, the driver of the next car to come along swerved to avoid the wreckage but smashed head-on into the Saturn. That driver was identified as a 35-year-old man. The CHP did not say whether he was injured.

The crash closed River Road, the main artery to the west county’s Russian River communities, for hours and caused severe traffic issues.