Suspect at large in Bodega Bay hit-and-run crash on Highway 1

Authorities were still looking Monday for a suspected hit-and-run driver who caused an accident in Bodega Bay Friday night.

After crossing the double yellow line on Highway 1 near the Tides Wharf & Restaurant around 9 p.m., the driver of a northbound Ford Ranger pickup truck collided with a southbound Jeep Wrangler, forcing it off the road, according to authorities.

The Jeep plunged 30 feet down an embankment and was at least partially submerged in Bodega Bay, CHP Officer David de Rutte said Monday.

The Jeep’s two passengers were able to extricate themselves, then scramble up the embankment back to the road. The driver suffered injuries de Rutte described as “major, but not life threatening.” The passenger also suffered a minor injury.

The driver of the Ford Ranger fled the scene, leaving his truck behind and blocking both lanes of traffic for over half an hour, said Steve Herzberg, assistant fire chief for Bodega Fire Protection District.

The CHP is not releasing the name of the pickup driver, who got into another person’s vehicle and left the scene of the collision, de Rutte said.

“He’s unaccounted for since then,” de Rutte said.

After finding blood inside the Ford Ranger on Friday night, authorities contacted area hospitals, to see if anyone had come in seeking medical attention.

“We haven’t heard anything,” said de Rutte, who noted that CHP is asking businesses near the Tides Wharf if they have surveillance footage that might help locate the suspect.

“We’re doing all we can,” he said, “but we don’t have the driver yet.”

You can reach Staff Writer Austin Murphy at 707-521-5214 or austin.murphy@pressdemocrat.com or on Twitter @ausmurph88.