Authorities name woman killed in Highway 12 crash in Santa Rosa

The driver who died Wednesday morning in a crash on Highway 12 in Santa Rosa has been identified as a local woman.

Alani Aguilar, 24, of Santa Rosa was identified Thursday by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

The Nissan Versa that Aguilar was driving was the last in a line of vehicles backed up along the eastbound side of Highway 12 from the onramp to southbound Highway 101 when the crash happened at about 8 a.m., according to a California Highway Patrol report.

A driver in a Safeway delivery box truck going about 50 to 55 mph “failed to notice the slower traffic ahead” and hit the Nissan from behind near Dutton Avenue, according to the report.

The truck then crashed into four other vehicles and overturned onto its side, officials said.

Aguilar was pulled from the Nissan, which had overturned, and was pronounced dead at a hospital, officials said.

Eastbound Highway 12 was closed for about two and a half hours at the crash site.

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Pera at matthew.pera@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Matt__Pera.