Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Update on head-on Highway 29 crash

By MARSHA DORGAN
Register Staff Writer

A wrong-way driver who caused a head-on crash on Saturday seriously injuring  himself and another driver was involved in a separate crash just minutes before.

Jose Luis Lopez-Manguia, 31, of San Pablo and Robert Long, 88, of Napa both suffered major injuries. Lopez-Manguia was airlifted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital where he was in stable condition, a hospital spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Long was taken by ambulance to Queen of the Valley Medical Center.

Around 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Lopez-Manguia drove his 1995 Plymouth north in southbound lanes on Highway 29 between Imola Avenue and Old Sonoma Road, according to the California Highway Patrol. He crashed his car head on into a southbound pickup driven by Long, CHP Officer Jaret Paulson said.

Just moments before the crash, Lopez-Manguia was involved in a hit-and-run accident on Freeway Drive that caused some property damage, Paulson said.

Paulson said Lopez-Manguia does not have a valid driver’s license or insurance.

“We are also investigating if alcohol was a factor in the accident,” he said.

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