LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Santa Rosa man has been arrested for a Saturday crash involving an off-highway vehicle at Indian Valley Reservoir that left a young woman dead.
The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said Juan Torres, 28, was arrested for driving under the influence during the Saturday afternoon crash that killed 19-year-old Athena Karan, also of Santa Rosa.
The CHP said that at 4:33 p.m. Torres was driving his 2019 Honda Talon off-highway vehicle, or OHV, in the Indian Valley Reservoir area.
Riding with him was I. Rubio Velasquez, 22, of Santa Rosa, who was in the right seat, with Karan seated on her lap, the CHP said.
Torres was traveling in an easterly direction within the reservoir when he went over a large dip in the roadway, causing him to lose control of the vehicle, according to the report.
The CHP said the OHV subsequently rolled over, ejecting Karan, who sustained major injuries when she hit the ground and subsequently succumbed to her injuries at the scene.
Officer Greg Buchholz arrived on scene and determined that Torres, who suffered minor injuries, was operating the OHV while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, the CHP said. Torres subsequently was placed under arrest and booked into the Lake County Jail.
The CHP said Velasquez sustained minor injuries and was transported by ambulance to Sutter Lakeside Hospital.
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Santa Rosa man arrested for Saturday fatal off-highway vehicle crash at Indian Valley Reservoir
- Elizabeth Larson
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