Grim DUI trends in Sonoma County: 4 deaths this month, arrests on rise

A father, a mother, her child and a college student have died this month, victims in suspected DUI crashes on Sonoma County roadways.

The three crashes happened within two weeks - a startling and tragic run-up to the annually anticipated spike in drunken driving arrests and crashes during the winter holidays.

Countywide, law enforcement officers each holiday season routinely focus on finding under-the-influence drivers, hoping to offset possible injury and fatal crashes. But this year they start the effort facing an already grim trend.

“Four deaths, and (DUI) arrests are up. We don’t like to see that at all,” said CHP Officer Jon Sloat. Countywide, CHP officers this month have seen DUI arrests rise by about 11 percent compared to this time last year.

The series of fatal collisions began Nov. 5, with a Sunday night crash on Lakeville highway that killed Paulette Quiba, an Oakley resident and 21-year-old Sonoma State University student. Driver Logo Tevaseu, 35, of Santa Rosa, who authorities said crossed over double yellow lines and slammed head-on into Quiba’s vehicle, had a 2012 DUI conviction and was driving with more than double the legal blood-alcohol limit, according to the CHP. They arrested him on suspicion of murder.

On Nov. 14, at about 7:45 a.m., Boyes Hot Springs resident Estefania Soto, 27, was driving daughter, Kaliyah Adkins, 7, to school in Sonoma when they were struck by a vehicle on Highway 12. The mother died in the crash and the girl died days later. The CHP arrested driver Jose Manuel Lopez-Perez, 25, of Santa Rosa on two counts of murder. He had a DUI conviction in 2013 and was also alleged to have crossed double yellow lines to make an illegal pass.

Late Sunday morning, Lakeport resident Teodulo Tovar Jr., 29, was headed south on Highway 101 in Petaluma when he failed to see warning signs he had traveled into a construction zone. He crashed into a concrete abutment head-on. The impact killed his father, Teodulo Tovar, 66, and badly injured his 57-year-old mother, both of Lakeport. The driver remained hospitalized Tuesday with life-threatening injuries and has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and felony drunken driving. The CHP said he’d told officers he’d been drinking and smoking marijuana that morning.

Two other Petaluma crashes last weekend involved one suspected drunken driver running a stop light and hitting another vehicle and a driver that CHP investigators suspect was distracted. The suspected drunken driver, a 32-year-old Petaluma woman, had a suspended license from a DUI case, the CHP said.

As well as the cluster of fatal crashes, local CHP officers since the start of November have reported a spike in DUI arrests. In the first three weeks of November, CHP officers arrested 62 suspected DUI drivers on Sonoma County highways and unincorporated roads. That’s up from 56 arrests in 2015 and 44 in 2016.

The Thanksgiving holiday added enforcement starts tonight, typically a busy party night as college students return home and holiday revelers kick off the long weekend.

CHP officials will put an extra six to eight officers on night duty for the long weekend to focus on intoxicated drivers. Extra enforcement in Santa Rosa tonight will include as many as six officers downtown.

“Usually downtown is really crowded, with college kids from Sonoma County coming down. It’s a chance to reunite and party. Now there’s a lot of new bars and things to see. People go bar to bar and now suddenly you’ve had a lot to drink,” said Santa Rosa police traffic Sgt. Summer Black.

“What sticks out to me, is a lot of these folks involved in these collisions would tell you they thought they were OK to drive, and they’re not,” Black said.

“That’s the bad thing about taking the risk.”

Santa Rosa, like other agencies, will focus on DUI cases through Sunday night but with the Christmas holidays just weeks away, intoxicated drivers will remain a priority through New Year’s Day, she said

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412.