LAKEPORT, Calif. – An Oakland woman died on Sunday evening following a single-vehicle crash on Highway 29.
The 35-year-old woman, whose name has not been released pending notification of next of kin, was riding as the passenger in a 1996 Honda Accord driven by Ioan C. Gruia, 31, of San Francisco, according to a Monday report from the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP said the crash occurred at 6:15 p.m. Sunday on Highway 29, south of the Hill Road undercrossing.
Gruia was driving southbound on Highway 29 in the No. 1 lane at an undetermined speed when, for unknown reasons, he allowed the Honda to drift off the roadway and onto the dirt center median, according to the CHP.
The CHP said Gruia attempted to drive the Honda back onto Highway 29 by sharply turning to the right, but he overcorrected and lost control of the car.
The Honda skidded across the highway's southbound lanes, hitting a raised curb and a dirt embankment, the CHP said.
The CHP said the impact with the curb and embankment caused the Honda to roll multiple times. The car traveled down a dirt embankment, where it came to rest on its roof on Hill Road, which in that area is a frontage road of Highway 29.
The female passenger suffered major injuries and had to be extricated by firefighters. The CHP said she was pronounced dead at the scene.
A REACH air ambulance flew Gruia to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, the CHP said.
Alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the incident, and both Gruia and his passenger were properly using their seat belts at the time the wreck occurred, the CHP said.
CHP Officer Adam Garcia is leading the crash investigation.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Oakland woman dies from injuries sustained in Sunday crash
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On