ROHNERT PARK (KRON/BCN) — A Rohnert Park man who died after he crashed his vehicle Tuesday night appears to have suffered a heart attack, according to the California Highway Patrol Wednesday.
David Petersen, 69, was driving a 1997 Toyota Avalon south on U.S. Highway 101 in Rohnert Park around 8 p.m., CHP Officer Jon Sloat said.
The Toyota suddenly steered to the right, crossed the Golf Course Drive off-ramp and went off the right side of the road. The car traveled approximately 60 feet through a dirt and grass shoulder and stopped in a small creek, Sloat said.
A passerby who stopped to help Petersen gave him CPR and called 911 when it appeared he was suffering cardiac arrest. Petersen was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead by hospital staff, Sloat said.
The Sonoma County coroner’s office said this morning there will not be an autopsy because Petersen did not die as a result of the crash.