Santa Rosa crash sends 4 to hospital

A driver turning into a commercial area from a busy southern Santa Rosa street Tuesday morning crashed into an oncoming pickup, injuring himself and three others, according to Santa Rosa police.

The four were taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital after the 9:20 a.m. collision on Dutton Avenue, south of Bellevue Avenue.

Rance Denell II, 19, of Hanford, told officers he was looking for an address and may have been distracted when he started a turn into a business address. His Jeep collided with a Chevrolet Colorado, said Santa Rosa traffic Officer Edward Buenrostro.

Denell, and Chevrolet driver Monique Ann Jin, 46, of Cloverdale, and two passengers were injured.

Witnesses told officers they found the Jeep driver out of his vehicle, appearing woozy and staggering.

Rincon Valley and Santa Rosa firefighters and three ambulances responded. Officers closed that stretch of Dutton Avenue for about 30 minutes. It appeared Denell may have suffered serious injuries and the others moderate injuries.

Jin was treated at Memorial and released. Denell was not being treated at the Santa Rosa hospital Tuesday afternoon but it wasn’t clear if he’d been transferred to another facility.

- Randi Rossmann