Suspected wrong-way DUI driver charged with murder in fatal Hwy. 101 crash

Prosecutors filed murder and vehicular manslaughter charges Tuesday against a Sonoma County woman suspected of being under the influence of drugs and driving the wrong way Friday on Highway 101, allegedly causing a crash that killed a Windsor man.

The driver, Sherry Risch, 53, who has a record of DUI convictions, appeared in a Sonoma County courtroom Tuesday that was packed with dozens of people who knew and loved the crash victim, 56-year-old Danny Adams.

He was a veteran tradesman who worked in San Francisco and lived with his wife in Windsor for nearly three decades. Many of his supporters wore a photo of him pinned to their shirts and blouses. “Justice for Danny” was written in red letters across the top of the photo.

Risch, who has at least two prior DUI convictions, is being charged with murder and vehicular manslaughter with multiple enhancements for her prior DUI convictions, said Laura Passaglia, the Sonoma County deputy district attorney prosecuting the case.

The complaint against Risch indicates she was driving on a suspended or revoked license at the time of the crash.

During the hearing before Judge Jamie Thistlethwaite, Risch’s public defender postponed entering a plea so that Risch could undergo a psychological evaluation. Thistlethwaite scheduled a hearing for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 15 to review the results of the evaluation.

Risch, who remains in Sonoma County Jail without bail, wore a dark blue jumpsuit with her hands cuffed. She left the courtroom weeping.

Shery Adams, the wife of Danny Adams, was not moved.

“I looked at her and said, ‘Crocodile tears!’” said Adams, crying just outside the courtroom.

She described her husband of 21 years as a kind and generous man who always gave of himself.

“He would do anything to help anybody,” she said. “He didn’t have a selfish bone in his body. He never told anybody, ‘no.’”

According to CHP accounts, Risch, driving a 2005 Kia Rio, was headed south on the northbound side of Highway 101 at Healdsburg Avenue just after midnight Friday. At 12:11 a.m., near Airport Boulevard, Risch’s vehicle crashed into the left side of an oncoming 2001 Honda Odyssey, the CHP said.

Three minutes later, at 12:14 a.m., callers reported that a man, later identified as Adams, riding a 2016 BMW, struck the Kia Rio and was ejected from his bike, resulting in fatal injuries.

Two people in the Honda Odyssey, Phim Kho, 44, and Yu Kwong, 59, both of San Francisco, suffered moderate to major injuries. Kwong needed immediate surgery, officials said.

Risch, who also was hospitalized with moderate injuries, faces separate felony charges in relation to the Honda passengers’ injuries.

Adams said her husband’s death has been a terrible blow to their family and friends. He was born in San Francisco and spent much of his adult life in Sonoma County. The couple met at a barbecue in Fort Bragg in 1985. The two were together for 35 years.

Adams was a union construction worker who daily commuted to San Francisco and was looking forward to retirement, his wife said.

“He did the ceiling at the De Young Museum,” she said. “Danny received an award for his company for that.”

He was a skilled hand in assembling motorcycles, a particular passion of his. Every five years, he’d build a “show Harley,” his wife said.

“He took care of everything. I don’t know how to pay the mortgage. Danny did everything,” she said.

After the hearing, Adams’ family and friends encircled Passaglia in the hallway outside the courtroom. His widow and others aired their anger and frustration over Risch’s previous DUI convictions.

They stemmed from arrests in 1999 and 2011, according to court records. No additional information was immediately available Tuesday. In late July, Risch was found guilty of disorderly conduct due to alcohol or drugs tied to an arrest in September 2017, according to court records. She was given credit for time served in jail.

She faces the murder charge in part because of her conviction record.

Passaglia assured the group that she would prosecute the case aggressively.

“I’m going to fight like hell,” she said.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com.