DUI suspected in fatal Petaluma car wreck

A man was killed after being ejected from his pickup on Saturday night after a crash with a driver who was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter.

Petaluma Police Department officers responded to a call of a collision on Stony Point Road in northern Petaluma. Officers found a white Honda Civic resting in Lichau Creek and a white Ford F150 that had rolled several times before coming to a rest on the road shoulder. Officers gave medical attention to each of the drivers but Petaluma Fire Department personnel arrived and declared the pickup driver dead, police said in a news release.

The Honda driver, 21-year-old Austin Matsler-David, was taken to Memorial Hospital and then booked into the Sonoma County Adult Detention Facility. Police smelled alcohol while they were tending to his injuries, according to the statement. Police did not name the victim because they had not yet notified his family members, but said he was a 52-year-old man.

Police suspect the pickup was heading north on Stony Point Road when it was struck by Matsler-David’s Honda, which was traveling in the opposite direction. The Honda appears to have crossed into ongoing traffic, police said. After striking the Ford, the Honda went over a concrete barrier and into the creek.

The pickup rolled several times, ejecting the driver, police said.

You can reach Staff Writer Andrew Graham at 707-526-8667 or andrew.graham@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @AndrewGraham88