Police: Passenger steered car into oncoming Rohnert Park traffic

A major crash on Rohnert Park Expressway Tuesday night was caused when a passenger grabbed a car’s steering wheel, intentionally sending it into oncoming traffic, police said in a news release.

Benjamin Moss, 44, was riding in the passenger seat of his 64-year-old mother’s 2006 Mustang. She was in the driver’s seat, and the two were in a fight, police said.

They were heading east on Rohnert Park Expressway near the entrance to Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center, when Moss grabbed the steering wheel, driving the car into the path of an Infinity SUV, police said. The crash sent the SUV into the shoulder and forced the Mustang into a spin, hitting the curb before slamming into a redwood tree.

Moss wasn’t wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, and was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. His mom and the 35-year-old driver of the SUV both suffered minor injuries, the release said. Moss was listed in stable condition Wednesday.

The crash closed Rohnert Park Expressway between Redwood Circle and Petaluma Hill Road for five hours, while Rohnert Park’s Major Accident Investigation team investigated.

Moss was arrested on felony DUI at the hospital. Police allege he was under the influence of a controlled substance.

You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SeaWarren.