SF man dies in Bennett Valley wreck

A driver in a borrowed Mazda Miata sports car was taking the backcountry turns on Bennett Valley Road on Saturday evening, when he apparently lost control of the vehicle near Enterprise Drive, just west of Warm Springs Road. The car veered off the road, flipped and slid back across the road, killing the driver and injuring his passenger.

Frank Clary, 36, of San Francisco was pronounced dead at the scene of blunt force trauma. His passenger, Jill Shadek, 30, also of San Francisco, was treated at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and released, according to CHP spokesman Jonathan Sloat.

Speed was thought to be a factor in the one-car accident, which took place just before 7:30 p.m. The black Miata was headed east toward Glen Ellen and Sonoma, according to Sloat.

A spokesman for the Sonoma County traffic division said the speed limit in that area is 35 mph. The scenic, largely rural two-lane road connects Glen Ellen with the Bennett Valley area of Santa Rosa. It had recently been repaved and the road is slightly higher than normal where it meets the shoulder, but Sloat said drivers “should still drive at a safe rate of speed for road conditions.”

Although there was no immediate reason to suspect intoxication, CHP will schedule a forensic pathologist from the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office to conduct an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of Clary’s death.

The California Highway Patrol is conducting the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident.