Third person dead in rural Sonoma crash that killed father and son
SEBASTOPOL - A third person has died as a result of a pair of Jeeps crashing down an embankment Monday evening in rural Sonoma County, the man's family announced.
Sebastopol resident Justin Gregori, 49, died of injuries he suffered Monday while trying to rescue another man and his three sons, whose car had overturned and slid down an embankment of roughly 150 feet.
The father, 32-year-old Santa Rosa resident Matthew Sousa, and one of his sons, 7-year-old Jason Sousa, died as a result of the crash. Matthew Sousa's two other sons were hospitalized for injuries from the crash.
Matthew Sousa and his sons were driving on a narrow road on private property in a rural part of northwest Sonoma County near the unincorporated area of Cazadero when their vehicle crashed, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officers and first responders with the CHP's Santa Rosa office and the Monte Rio Fire Protection District were dispatched to the scene around 5:45 p.m.
While first responders were still en route, Gregori stopped nearby in an attempt to help the Sousas, but his vehicle also slid down the embankment.
He suffered critical injuries as a result and was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where he died Thursday, according to his family.
Emergency responders required ATVs to access the scene of the crashes due to the rural location, steep terrain, an incoming fog bank and the evening darkness.
GoFundMe fundraising campaigns have been launched for both families in the wake of the crashes.
A campaign for the Sousa family, located at https://www.gofundme.com/f/sousa-family-tragedy, has raised roughly $92,000 as of Friday afternoon.
The campaign for the Gregori family, at https://www.gofundme.com/f/love-and-support-for-the-gregori-family, has garnered roughly $16,000 in donations.
