Woman arrested on suspicion of DUI in Highway 101 crash in Santa Rosa

A woman was arrested Thursday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol after investigators said she caused a three-vehicle crash that snarled traffic on northbound Highway 101 near the downtown Santa Rosa exit, according to the CHP.

Star Baggett-Porter, 31, of Arizona, was driving her 2013 Chevrolet Impala north in the left lane of the highway when she rear-ended a 2014 Toyota Tacoma driven by Rohnert Park resident Luis Orea Ortiz, 37, CHP Officer Marcus Hawkins said.

The crash, reported to officers at about 7:10 a.m., caused Ortiz to lose control of his truck and collide with a third car, a 2003 Nissan Frontier driven by Ebodio Osorio Castro, 40, of Rohnert Park.

The impact of the crash caused both of the pickups to overturn, and Ortiz’s Toyota Tacoma continued past the edge of the freeway and plunged down an embankment, Hawkins said.

It landed on a dirt patch near the highway’s Third Street offramp adjacent to a Santa Rosa Plaza parking structure, he added.

Both Baggett-Porter’s Chevrolet and Castro’s Nissan remained on the freeway. Witnesses told the CHP the Chevy truck had overturned and spilled roofing nails scattered across the lanes, according to CHP logs.

Castro was transported to a hospital with minor injuries, Hawkins said. No injuries were reported for Ortiz, the driver of the Toyota pickup.

Between the crash, CHP cars, fire and rescue personnel and tow trucks, traffic was severely affected until about 8:30 a.m., when the road was cleared.

Baggett-Porter was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on $100,000 bail, jail records show. She’s scheduled to appear before a judge Monday afternoon.

You can reach Staff Writers Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com and Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.