Two Injured After Car Plunges into Santa Rosa Creek, Driver Flees Scene

A vehicle carrying three people plunged into Colgan Creek in Santa Rosa on Tuesday, and the driver fled the scene, police said.

At 9:17 p.m., Santa Rosa police, fire crews, and Sonoma Life Support personnel were dispatched to the area of Colgan Avenue and Santa Rosa Avenue on a report of a vehicle collision.

At the scene, officers located a vehicle that had crashed through a fence on the west sidewalk of Santa Rosa Avenue and went into the Colgan Creek flood control channel. The vehicle then traveled about 200 feet west in the creek, before coming to a stop, police said.

According to police, officers contacted two of the vehicle's occupants who were able to exit the vehicle. They suffered injuries that are not considered life threatening and were taken to a hospital for treatment.

The driver fled the scene before officers arrived, police said.

Crews were unable to remove the vehicle from the flood control channel because of accessibility issues and damage to the vehicle. Arrangements for the vehicle's removal will be done at a later time, police said.

Officers are investigating this incident and following up on leads to determine the driver's identity. The driver is described as a black man in his early 20s, and was wearing a gray shirt and white pants.