Windsor woman killed in Hwy. 101 crash by suspected drunken driver

Sonoma County Coroner’s Office Friday identified the woman who died on southbound Highway 101 Wednesday night in what authorities suspect was a collision involving an intoxicated Santa Rosa man with two prior DUI convictions.

Rosa Lua, 45, of Windsor died at the scene of the wreck south of River Road. The collision was reported to CHP about 11 p.m.

Officers arrested the driver of a second car found at the scene, Fernando Aguilera, 31, after field sobriety and breath tests determined he was over the legal alcohol limit to be driving, the CHP said.

Officers suspect Aguilera was driving southbound on the freeway in a silver Ford Fusion when he hit the back of Lua’s car, which was in the slow lane. The impact caused her to lose control of her blue Honda Civic and hit a guardrail. Her vehicle rolled and crashed into a nearby fence and tree before coming to a stop, authorities said.

Aguilera made his first appearance before Sonoma County Judge Shelly Averill Friday afternoon in connection with Wednesday’s fatal collision. Since Santa Rosa defense attorney Ben Adams was not present, the judge rescheduled his client Aguilera’s arraignment for Tuesday. The judge ordered Aguilera to remain in jail without the possibility of release on bail. He was booked into the county jail early Thursday morning.

Aguilera faces charges of murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and felony driving under the influence that County District Attorney Jill Ravitch filed against him Friday, court records show.

He has two prior DUI convictions in Sonoma County, one from 2011 and another from 2009, according to the court records.

About a dozen of Aguilera’s family and friends watched Friday’s brief proceeding from a courtroom gallery. Afterward they declined to talk to a reporter.

Lua’s family declined a request to be interviewed Friday afternoon.

The CHP asks anyone who may have witnessed the collision to call 707-588-1400.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com.