Man killed in Bennett Valley Road crash was from Rohnert Park

A driver killed over the weekend when he lost control while trying to pass another vehicle on a rural Bennett Valley road was identified Monday as a Rohnert Park resident.

James Godsey, 62, of Rohnert Park, was behind the wheel when his 2004 Hyundai Sonata crashed into an oncoming car, the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office said Monday.

Godsey had been traveling west on Bennett Valley Road, west of Grange Road, when he crossed double yellow lines on a curve to pass another vehicle Sunday evening, CHP Officer Marcus Hawkins said in a news release.

While in the curve, Godsey lost control and his sedan began to spin. Tina Gonzalez, 43, of Santa Rosa, driving east, was approaching in a Dodge Neon and the two cars collided. The Neon hit the driver’s side of the skidding sedan, Hawkins said.

The Sonata then flipped and Godsey died in the crash.

Gonzalez suffered moderate injuries and was taken by ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. On Monday she was no longer being treated at the hospital and may have been released or transferred to another hospital.

Authorities closed the road for about three hours to investigate the 5:50 p.m. Sunday collision.