Six passengers were killed and another suffered major injuries Sunday evening when the driver of their vehicle ran off the road and hit a tree about 12 miles north of St. Helena. The driver, who survived, was arrested for suspected DUI.
As KPIX reports, Napa County Sheriff's deputies were the first to arrive at the scene. Six passengers were pronounced dead, and a seventh passenger was airlifted to a hospital, as KRON4 reports. According to the California Highway Patrol, the crash happened around 5:50 pm when the vehicle — a Toyota Sienna minivan — was traveling southbound on Pope Valley Road in an unincorporated portion of Napa County, per KRON4.
The driver was arrested at the hospital for suspected DUI causing injury or death, per KPIX. Pope Valley Road was closed most of the evening while authorities investigated the scene.
Napa Valley Register called the crash one of Napa County’s deadliest “in decades, if not longer.”
Update: The arrested driver has been identified as 53-year-old Norberto Celerino of Stockton. The victims have not yet been publicly identified, and nor have their relationships to Celerino.
Image: Google Street View
