2 dead, 3 injured in horrific Sonoma County jeep off-road crash

SONOMA COUNTY -- Two people were killed and three others injured Monday night when a jeep careened off a rural Sonoma County road and crashed into a ravine.

Officers and first responders with the California Highway Patrol's Santa Rosa office and the Monte Rio Fire Protection District responded around 5:45 p.m. to a crash on private property at the Happy Hills Hunting Club in a part of the county northwest of the unincorporated area of Cazadero.

According to the CHP, one of the Jeeps was driving down a dirt road and initially overturned down an embankment of some 300 feet into a ravine. The vehicle's driver, a 32-year-old man, and a passenger, an unidentified boy, were both killed in the crash.

A second Jeep, driven by a 49-year-old man and carrying two boys attempted to help the first, but also overturned down the embankment.

The CHP said the crash site was so remote one of its helicopters joined first responders on ATVs to reach the victims.

"Access to the area is difficult as firefighters are using ATVs to access the scene," the CHP posted in Facebook.

 Further complicating the rescue was a rapidly approaching fog bank.

The names of the victims were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

CHP officers from the Santa Rosa office are investigating the crash.

"More information will be available in the morning as the scene is chaotic and the investigation has just begun," the CHP posted.