2 sisters killed during crash into Petaluma River
PETALUMA, Calif. - A fatal car crash in Sonoma County Wednesday took the lives of two sisters, with their mom behind the wheel, eerily similar to another accident last week in Jenner.
This time, the car plunged into a narrow section of the Petaluma River, and the CHP says the mother did not have a driver's license.
"At least one witness says speed was involved, and some weaving," CHP Officer Jon Sloat told KTVU, "so we're going to look for distraction in the vehicle and evidence of impairment."
The crash happened on Petaluma Boulevard North, a well-traveled four lane road that parallels Highway 101.
Nine year old Delilah Gonzales and her sister Sayra, 7, were belted into their seats in the Chevy Impala, when 26 year old Alejandra Hernandez lost control.
Possible distractions include the use of a cell phone while driving, although Hernandez blames the crash on another driver she says cut her off, and forced her to swerve, then overcorrect.
Investigators have not found any witnesses to back that up, but the man driving behind Hernandez pulled over to help. He found Hernandez on the roof of her car.
"The Good Samaritan stopped to help, helped her up the embankment, and then he went back down to get the children out," explained Sloat.
That proved difficult, with the car crumpled from hitting trees, and upside down in eight feet of water.
"Eight Petaluma Police officers arrived, and stripped off their gear and went in, and along with some Rancho Adobe firefighters, extricated the girls, but by that time, they had been submerged twenty minutes or so," said Sloat.
It was an emotional scene, with distraught family members arriving, and first responders upset as well.
"I can't recall anything like that here, " Petaluma Police Lt. Tim Lyons told KTVU, "but what come to mind is Jenner, two fatalities, another tragic incident recently."
Last week's accident on the Sonoma Coast also involved a mom driving her young daughters to school.
Her pickup truck fishtailed on a slick highway and plunged over an embankment into the mouth of the Russian River.
She also survived, but her girls didn't. Four CHP officers who responded to that scene were also called to the Petaluma fatalities.
"Any time officers have kids and go through this, it's very tough," acknowledged Lt. Lyons," especially with Jenner in the backs of their minds."
After the wreckage was cleared, people brought flowers and balloons to the crash site, expressing grief and sympathy for the family.
"She's a really good mom, you know, she would do anything for her daughters," said family friend Teresa Lopez.
Friends say the girls' parents met in high school in Petaluma a decade ago.
They say Hernandez works in a convalescent home, and her partner, Edwin Gonzales, works at an equipment rental company.
Hernandez had dropped Gonzales off at work in Petaluma before heading back to Rohnert Park, where the family lives.
"I always saw her at family parties, and I thought she was a great person, a great mom to her children," family friend Janet Saldana told KTVU.
"Her two girls, they were loving, and nice. They were little angels and that's how I'll remember them."
Hernandez passed a breathlyzer test at the scene, and further toxicology is pending.
CHP is still researching her DMV record, as to whether she has ever had a driver's license, or had one that was suspended.