1 Dead, 4 Injured In Santa Rosa Rollover Crash
SANTA ROSA (BCN) - The 43-year-old female passenger of a car driven by a Santa Rosa teenager died Friday night after the vehicle rolled onto its roof in Sonoma County and injured three young girls also inside the vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officers received a call at about 8:26 p.m. reporting the overturned vehicle at Petaluma Hill Road just north of Hunter Lane in an area of unincorporated Sonoma County south of Santa Rosa.
An investigation determined that Sebastian Jenz Hollingworth, 18, was driving the 2004 Chevrolet Trail Blazer southbound on Petaluma Hill Road.
Traveling at approximately 60 mph, an inattentive Hollingworth drifted into the northbound lane, then cut the steering wheel hard to the right, the CHP said.
The Trail Blazer barreled off the roadway after it lost control, then struck two trees before rolling onto its roof and coming to a rest in a drainage culvert, according to the CHP.
Hollingworth's passenger, Shelli K. Shimmel, of Santa Rosa, died from her injuries, the CHP said.
Three other passengers in the car—girls ages six, 13, and 16 -- also sustained moderate to major injuries and were taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Hollingworth sustained minor injuries.
Earlier reports incorrectly concluded that the driver of the vehicle was killed from the crash and that none of the passengers had been injured.
The CHP have ruled out alcohol as a factor in the crash.
