Man dies in Highway 101 crash in Santa Rosa

A man died in a two-vehicle crash on southbound Highway 101 in Santa Rosa Thursday that caused his vehicle to spin out of control and plunge down an embankment.

The collision was reported to the CHP at 9:35 a.m. just north of College Avenue, authorities said.

It involved Chrysler 300 that was in the middle lane of the freeway and a Nissan Versa that was to its right, the CHP said.

For unknown reasons, the two cars collided with each other, causing the Nissan to spin out of control, the highway patrol said.

The Nissan subsequently hit a guardrail on the highway’s right shoulder before crashing down an embankment along the College Avenue offramp.

The driver inside, a 58-year-old Sebastopol man, was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

The man in the Chrysler, Jose Rodriguez, 31, of Santa Rosa, pulled over and waited for officers to respond, the CHP said. He was not hurt in the crash.

Neither driver was suspected of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the collision, CHP spokesman Officer David deRutte said.

The name of the Nissan driver had not released by the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office as of Thursday afternoon.

Staff Writer Kaylee Tornay contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nashellytweets.