Santa Rosa mom arrested, son seriously injured in suspected DUI crash near Healdsburg

A 4-year-old boy was listed in stable condition Thursday morning in the aftermath of a car crash where his mother drove drunk and veered off Highway 101 just south of Dry Creek Road, authorities said.

Melissa Miller, 36, of Santa Rosa was speeding southbound in her 2004 Saturn VUE shortly before midnight Wednesday, the CHP said, when she missed a gradual left curve just south of Dry Creek Road, the CHP said.

The vehicle left the road and struck a raised curb, flipped sideways and then tumbled down an embankment, the patrol said. The car stopped after colliding with a redwood tree.

Emergency responders found the boy partially out of the rear window and unconscious, the CHP said, with major injuries. Miller suffered moderate injuries.

Both were taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, though the boy was later flown to Oakland Children’s Hospital. Officers said the child was not wearing a seat belt or in a child safety seat.

The CHP said Miller was found to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. She was on felony probation for a prior drug charge. Miller was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, child endangerment and violation of probation.

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.