San Jose crash kills Santa Rosa woman, Petaluma man

The CHP is investigating a Highway 101 crash in San Jose that killed two Sonoma County residents.

The bodies of a 22-year-old Santa Rosa woman, who’d been driving, and a 26-year-old Petaluma man were found Monday in the severely damaged sedan off Highway 101 in the heart of San Jose.

The wreckage was discovered about 8 a.m. by a slow-moving northbound commuter who looked off to the side, north of the Taylor Street over-crossing, and saw part of a vehicle in heavy trees and brush.

“We are pretty sure it did happen the previous evening, Sunday. A receipt was found in the car for earlier that evening,” said CHP Officer Ross Lee Tuesday.

Officers are putting together a timeline of the pair’s movements to determine where they were coming from and any other pertinent details. But they’d been northbound sometime Sunday night and for unknown reasons, the Pontiac sedan left the highway, crossed the shoulder and rolled, hitting at least one tree, Lee said. The impact collapsed the sedan’s roof and partially folded the vehicle.

There was a possible skid mark on the road, but it remained unclear whether the mark was from braking or pulling hard on the wheel, possibly to swerve, Lee said.

The names of the victims weren’t available Tuesday.

Lee asked anyone with information to contact the San Jose CHP Office at 408-467-5400.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.