Santa Rosa father, 7-year-old son identified as victims of fatal rural jeep crash

SANTA ROSA -- Matthew Souza and his 7-year-old son Jason were killed in a jeep crash on a backroad in rural Sonoma County earlier this week, officials confirmed on Thursday.

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said the father and son died in the crash on Monday night that left three others hospitalized with serious injuries.

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. Matthew Souza, 32, was the vehicle's driver while his son Jason was a passenger.

Both suffered fatal injuries in the crash.

A second Jeep, driven by a 49-year-old man and carrying two boys attempted to come to the Souzas aid 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 and the lack of daylight.

The tragic deaths left Matthew's wife, Kendra, to raise the couple's two other children by herself. A GoFundMe page  had raised $39,070 by Thursday afternoon.

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