Vallejo man gets seven years in prison for fatal Sonoma Coast crash

A 32-year-old Vallejo man received a seven-year prison term for a January drunken driving crash on the Sonoma Coast that killed another driver and injured his wife, Sonoma County District Attorney officials said Thursday.

Kyle Ryley Ferguson pleaded guilty in April to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated for the Jan. 7 crash on Highway 1 near Salt Point State Park that killed Jeffrey Simon, 55, of Richmond.

Ferguson also admitted to a special allegation that his blood-alcohol level was far above the legal limit of 0.08 percent. Field sobriety tests conducted at the time recorded 0.33 and 0.30 percent blood-alcohol levels at the scene - measurements about four times above the legal limit to drive.

Simon was driving with his wife from their property in the Sea Ranch community to bring their cat to a veterinary appointment when the 2 p.m. crash occurred, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office. Heading north, Ferguson crossed over the double yellow lines as he headed around a curve and his vehicle struck Simon’s southbound pickup, prosecutors said.

Simon died at the scene of blunt force trauma, District Attorney officials said in a statement. Although initial reports from the CHP indicated Simon’s wife, Tracy Takahashi, was not injured, prosecutors said she sustained “serious injuries” in the collision. The cat also died in the crash.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.