Two men killed in a head-on collision Monday morning in southwest Sonoma County were from Santa Rosa and Petaluma.
The victims were Carl Levine, 66, of Santa Rosa, and James Wheelock, 57, of Petaluma, according to the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office. The two men died when their Nissan work pickup collided with a Lexus SUV on Valley Ford Road, north of the community of Two Rock.
CHP released details of the crash Tuesday afternoon, stating a 72-year-old Sacramento woman, whose name has not been released, was driving east when she turned left in front of the truck driven by Levine. She suffered moderate injuries in the crash and was taken to a local hospital, CHP said in a social media post.
The 11:20 a.m. crash occurred near the Walker Road intersection. The pickup flipped in the impact, landing on its side and trapping Levine and Wheelock, who died from their injuries, CHP said.
U.S. Coast Guard Fire Chief Charles Funkhouser said a small fire started from the collision but was put out by a fire extinguisher.
Several emergency agencies responded to the crash, which was the second fatal collision on that stretch of Valley Ford Road since May.
The collision remains under investigation, and a final CHP report won’t be issued for at least a month, if not several, CHP Officer Custodio Lopez said. Neither drugs or alcohol are suspected as factors in the crash.
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Two killed in southwest Sonoma County crash
RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | October 1, 2018
Two people died Monday in a head‑on crash near Two Rock, in southwest Sonoma County, according to the CHP.
The 11:25 a.m. crash happened at Valley Ford and Walker roads and closed the area for hours for the investigation. It was reopened to traffic just after 3 p.m. This is the second fatality in the same area since May, when a collision killed one person and injured three others.
On Monday, a Lexus SUV and a work pickup collided, the impact flipping the pickup onto its side and up against the SUV. At least one person initially was trapped, and flames came from at least one of the vehicles.
The crash scene included ladders strewn along the roadway from the pickup and the precarious perching of the truck, which was stabilized by firefighters.
As CHP officers analyzed the scene, the body of one person was on the roadway, covered with a tarp, and the second victim remained inside the truck. Both of the people killed had been in the truck, CHP said. A woman from the SUV was taken to a hospital, according to initial reports.
Several agencies responded, including Cal Fire, Two Rock and U.S. Coast Guard firefighters and an ambulance.