The man who was killed when his Porsche crashed on Highway 12 Friday was identified by the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office as 55-year-old El Verano resident John Daman Hatley.
Initial reports indicated the man was a San Francisco resident, however the coroner’s office said Saturday the man lived in Sonoma Valley.
According to witnesses of the fatal collision near Kenwood, Hatley was going southbound in his 2006 Porsche Boxster and appeared to lose control before colliding with a GMC 3500 flatbed truck in the northbound lane.
California Highway Patrol officials reported Hatley’s car was seen tailgating, making dangerous passes, crossing over the double-yellow lines and speeding into oncoming lanes, with some witnesses indicating the car may have been going up to 80 mph in the 55 mph zone.
Witnesses said Hatley appeared to lose control on the wet roadway before crashing into oncoming traffic just north of Dunbar Road about 1:40 p.m.
Officials reported the front of the truck went over the driver’s side of Hatley’s Porsche. Hatley was pronounced dead on the scene. The two occupants of the truck, which belongs to a Healdsburg concrete company, were not injured.
An autopsy and CHP investigation are in progress.
CHP and area firefighters responded to another crash on Highway 12 near Dunbar Road Sunday, Jan. 18, around 6:20 p.m. Three people were injured in the what appeared to be a head-on crash, with initial reports indicating no serious injuries. Firefighters had to cut the door off of one vehicle to free a trapped driver. More details on the weekend accident that caused traffic delays were not available at presstime.
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