Two killed in head-on crash on River Road

Two drivers and a dog died in a horrific head-on crash Monday on River Road after one of the drivers crossed into oncoming traffic, apparently to pass a row of cars, the CHP said.

Neither driver was identified Monday.

Witnesses said a westbound 2001 Lexus sedan crossed double yellow lines west of Laughlin Road and “punched it,” speeding up to an estimated 80 mph and into the path of an oncoming Ford Ranger pickup, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said.

Both drivers, apparently trying to avoid a collision, shifted toward the shoulder on the south side of the road where they collided in an impact that sent both vehicles airborne and spinning out of control, Sloat said.

The Lexus burst into flames and came to rest nose down in a ditch off the edge of the shoulder - its front end smashed and essentially melted and its rear tires in the air.

The pickup was thrown into a nearby driveway and came to rest, its nose crushed against a utility pole. The driver, a 58-year-old Windsor resident, was trapped inside, Sloat said.

Firefighters pulled the man from the wrecked truck but were unable to revive him. A dog in the pickup died as well.

Traffic was turned away and the road closed for several hours as investigators analyzed the scene. Short, deep skid marks marred the road on the shoulder near where the wrecked vehicles came to rest. A box of dog treats lay among car parts strewn across the road.

The speed limit is 55 mph for that section of River Road, but neighbor Nick Leras, 77, said motorists all too often seem to travel much faster.

Leras rode up to the crash scene on an off-road vehicle, seated with his two dogs. Moments before the crash, Leras said, he heard the loud “pop pop pop” of a vehicle crossing the raised pavement markers on the double yellow lines.

Leras said the driver, whom he did not see, was “flying.”

He went outside and saw dark smoke rising from the crash site.

“They need to monitor this road more closely,” said Leras, who suggested that passing can be too dangerous on River Road.

The main artery to and from the west county’s Russian River communities has seen its share of deadly crashes over the years. In January, Guerneville resident Holly Ann Stephens, 52, was killed in Rio Nido after her car drifted across double yellow lines into the path of another vehicle. In June 2014, Santa Rosa resident Daniel Berry, 20, died after his truck, traveling eastbound near Sunset Avenue, sideswiped two oncoming vehicles. In January 2009, Sea Ranch residents Katherine Kopac and John William Nichols, both 81, died after Nichols drove off the road and struck a tree near Mirabel Park Campground.

There also have been numerous crashes on River Road resulting in serious injuries.

Randi Rossmann contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson?@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter?@jjpressdem.