Guerneville Resident Identified In Fatal River Road Crash

GUERNEVILLE, CA — The Sonoma County Sheriff-Coroner's Office has identified a driver killed in a head-on collision with a Sonoma County Transit bus.

Gabriel Nelson, 46, of Guerneville, was pronounced dead at the scene of an Oct. 7 crash on River Road west of Odd Fellows Park Road, according to the California Highway Patrol and the sheriff-coroner's office.

The CHP's preliminary investigation indicated that shortly before noon, Nelson was driving a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck eastbound on River Road when for reasons not immediately known, he crossed into the opposite lane directly in front of the oncoming bus.

"The front of the bus collided into the right side of the Toyota," CHP Officer David deRutte said. "The forward momentum of the large bus pushed the Toyota several feet westbound."

Nelson suffered fatal injuries as he was thrown from the pickup truck, the CHP said.

The driver of the bus, a 26-year-old Sebastopol man, was treated for minor injuries at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Five passengers were on the bus but none reported any injuries, deRutte said.