Kidnapping, DUI suspect arrested after Petaluma crash

An Antioch man suspected of kidnapping a woman in San Francisco, and speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, was arrested early Tuesday after crashing in southern Petaluma, according to the CHP.

Driver Douglas Stevenson, 54, reportedly was headed from San Francisco to Richmond but became lost and ended up in Sonoma County, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said.

At 12:35 a.m., he was traveling extremely fast on Highway 101 and lost control on a northbound curve near Kastania Road. Witnesses told the CHP the 1996 Volvo sedan didn’t slow when it drove off the road, then crossed a ditch and landed in a field. Other drivers called 911 to report the crash as well as a person leaving the scene. Sloat said the driver was found by officers on the Kastania Road overcrossing. Citizens also stopped to help with the incident, according to the CHP crash log.

Near the wreckage officers found a 58-year-old woman, who’d been in the vehicle. She told officers Stevenson had forced her into his car at a San Francisco homeless shelter and taken her on the drive that ended with the crash, Sloat said.

Both suffered injuries and were taken to Petaluma Valley Hospital.

An investigation led to Stevenson’s arrest on suspicion of felony DUI involving alcohol and drugs, and kidnapping.

He was treated for injuries and taken to the Sonoma County Jail, where he remained in custody Tuesday afternoon in lieu of $100,000 bail.

A motive for the alleged kidnapping wasn’t clear. Sloat said the case remained under investigation.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport.