Woman killed in suspected DUI crash near Santa Rosa

The CHP said a Sebastopol man was driving a pickup at a high rate of speed when it crashed into a culvert.|
DEREK MOORE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A 35-year-old woman who was riding in a pickup driven by a man suspected of driving drunk was killed early Sunday in a single-vehicle crash west of Santa Rosa, the CHP said.

The woman’s identity was not released, pending notification of her relatives.

The CHP identified the driver as Chanowk Pendergrass, 29, of Sebastopol. He was arrested on suspicion of felony drunken driving and manslaughter and taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital to be treated for major injuries.

The CHP said Pendergrass was driving a 2008 GMC Sierra at a high rate of speed southbound on Llano Road at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday when the pickup failed to negotiate a curve near Doyle Road, left the roadway and rammed a concrete culvert.

The pickup overturned. Firefighters from Sebastopol and Rincon Valley responded and extricated Pendergrass from the driver’s seat. His passenger was pronounced dead at the scene.

Pendergrass failed a field sobriety test, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said.

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