One dead in east Sonoma County collision amid heavy rainfall

One man died Wednesday afternoon in an east Sonoma County crash during heavy rainfall, according to emergency officials.

Sonoma County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum on Thursday identified him as Malachi Hussain, 25, of Livermore.

A Nissan driven by Hussain at unsafe speeds for the conditions lost control and crossed the double yellow line, crashing into a Dodge truck at 2:50 p.m. on Highway 121 near Napa Road, just around the corner from the old Stornetta Dairy, CHP spokesman Marc Renspurger said.

The Dodge driver suffered minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa, CHP said in a prepared statement. Two passengers in the Dodge also were transported to the hospital even though they were uninjured.

'This person's speed coming down that roadway and the amount of water on that roadway caused him to lose control, and he paid the ultimate price for it, unfortunately,' Renspurger said. 'Any time we get storms like this, we plead for people just to slow down and give yourself extra time just to get places.'

The crash blocked the eastbound lanes, and emergency officials closed eastbound traffic at Highway 121 and Napa Road, as well as at the rural highway and Ramal Road. Traffic quickly became an issue as heavy rains caused nearby roadways to flood.

The collision was just east of Schellville and southeast of Sonoma, near the Napa County line. As the victims were treated and transported, some firefighters left quickly to avoid getting trapped by the rising water in areas below the crash scene, Schell-Vista Fire Chief Ray Mulas said.

'We got the hell out of there,' said Mulas, a longtime chief and area rancher. 'It was literally pouring at that point in time. We were concerned with trying to get out with all the water coming. I'm not exaggerating, the fields were running. It looked like the Russian River out there.'