Rohnert Park passenger dies from DUI crash injuries

A suspected DUI, hit-and-run crash in northern Santa Rosa turned fatal with death of a passenger, CHP said.|
RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A Rohnert Park woman injured in a suspected drunken driving, hit-and-run crash Saturday night in northern Santa Rosa has died, the CHP said.

Lourdes Marcelo, 47, died Friday at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

She was a passenger in a car hit June 16 by a suspected drunken driver who then ran from the crash, CHP said. The late-night crash happened on Highway 101 at Airport Boulevard.

Marcelo, who wasn’t belted, was thrown from the car. Driver Elvis Veliz, 46, also suffered life-threatening injuries but his hospital status Wednesday wasn’t available.

Following the woman’s death, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office this week added a gross vehicular manslaughter charge to the case against suspected drunken driver Francisco Gonzalez Mejia, 20, of Petaluma.

Mejia remained in custody Wednesday without bail. He faces charges of drunken driving causing injuries, hit-and-run and violating his probation for a prior robbery conviction, a Sonoma County sheriff’s official said.

- Randi Rossmann

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