SONOMA COUNTY (BCN)—A driver who died in a fiery crash on a rural road near Monte Rio Tuesday night has been identified as Edward Reynolds, 19, of Guerneville, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
A female passenger who also died has not been positively identified, sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Crum said today.
Both were killed around 10:30 p.m. when their 2009 Mitsubishi crashed into trees off eastbound Moscow Road, the California Highway Patrol said.
The Mitsubishi was speeding when it left the road on a right turn and collided with two separate trees, crushing the passenger compartment, the CHP said.
The car was wedged against a tree when the engine caught fire.
A Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy, who was traveling west on Moscow Road at the time, stopped and extinguished the flames before they engulfed the engine, according to the CHP. The deputy was unable to check on the occupants of the car.
The Monte Rio Fire Protection District responded and pulled the Mitsubishi off the tree, CHP officials said. Both Reynolds and his passenger were pronounced dead at the scene.
It was the third double-fatality crash in Sonoma County since Aug. 23 and the second one in the Russian River area.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.