Second driver in near-fatal Petaluma street race arrested

A Petaluma man alleged to be a driver in a Jan. 25 street race that left a 14-year-old Casa Grande High School student badly injured was arrested Friday.

Juan Guzman Garcia, 23, of Petaluma was taken into custody by Petaluma police after a witness to the Sonoma Mountain Highway crash spotted his black Subaru WRX in a parking lot, police said in a statement.

During the street race between a Subaru WRX and BMW 334i, the BMW slammed into a Mercury Grand Marquis turning onto Clary Way.

The injured Casa Grande freshman, Christopher Hopkins, was riding with his grandparents and took the brunt of the impact in the backseat of the Mercury. He suffered a broken pelvis and a cut spleen.

A 17-year-old driver of the BMW, also a Casa Grande student, was arrested at the scene for street racing causing injury, but the black Subaru WRX got away.

Police said Garcia admitted to being the driver in the street race. He was arrested on suspicion of reckless driving causing great bodily injury, street racing and driving without a license, police said. Garcia’s license was suspended for a previous DUI.

You can reach Staff Writer Nick Rahaim at 707-521-5203 or nick.rahaim@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nrahaim.