Fatal US 101 Crash Investigated In Connection With Woman's Death

PETALUMA, CA — Petaluma police said a fatal crash early Friday on U.S. Highway 101 and the death of a woman inside a Petaluma residence were being investigated as related incidents.

A collision involving a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a car was reported at 1:19 a.m. on southbound U.S. Highway 101, north of the East Washington Street overpass.

The Harley Davidson was going the wrong way on the freeway — northbound in the southbound lanes — and hit a southbound Honda Fit head-on, Petaluma police Lt. Ed Crosby said.

The impact of the crash killed the 34-year-old man who was driving the motorcycle, Crosby said.

A 24-year-old woman who was driving the Honda became trapped as her car caught fire. She suffered major injuries but was expected to survive after being pulled to safety by a good Samaritan.

CHP closed all southbound lanes of the freeway, issued a Sig-alert and summoned Petaluma police to the scene.

Around 2 a.m. as police were investigating the collision, the Petaluma Police Department received a request for a welfare check on a woman at a residence in the 700 block of Sixth Street, Crosby said.

Officers went to the home and found a 28-year-old woman dead.

Her death was being investigated as a homicide but police said there were no outstanding suspects, nor was there any ongoing threat to the general community.

"The driver of the motorcycle is dead; 40 minutes later we get a request to do a check on a residence on Sixth Street; we go there and discover the homicide," Crosby told Patch. "Based on some other evidence I am not at liberty to discuss, there is a pretty strong correlation between the two people involved in the two incidents."

A relative of the woman alerted police to the Sixth Street residence, which Crosby described as a house divided into apartments.

Evidence showed the motorcyclist and homicide victim were domestic partners, Crosby said.

Since the investigation was still in the early stages, he said he could not further elaborate.

The CHP and Petaluma Police Department’s Investigations Unit were coordinating their respective investigations, along with further assistance from the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.

All southbound lanes of the freeway were closed until 5:45 a.m. Friday as the collision was investigated.

The identities of the deceased motorcyclist and the woman found dead inside the residence were not immediately disclosed pending notification of their next of kin by the Sonoma County Sheriff-Coroner's Office.

Anyone with information about either death investigation is asked to contact Petaluma Police Department Detective John Silva at 707-778-4532.