Highway 116 Crash Kills Driver, Injures Two

A driver was killed and two adult male passengers suffered major injuries when a Mercedes crashed on westbound Highway 116 near Redwood Drive, west of Guerneville, early Monday. Investigators say the car was traveling at a high rate of speed before the driver lost control, struck a rock and a tree, and the vehicle caught fire. The passengers escaped or were pulled from the car by a passerby and taken to a Santa Rosa hospital; the driver was found dead inside after firefighters extinguished the flames. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the cause, including whether alcohol was a factor, and has not released the occupants’ identities.