CHP officers discovered the body of a 16-year-old Cloverdale girl following an investigation of a crash.
California Highway Patrol officers discovered the body of a 16-year-old Cloverdale girl Saturday morning, following an investigation of a collision in the same area the previous night.
At 7 a.m. the CHP received a call reporting a body in a creek bed, approximately 150 feet from the scene of a collision, which officers had responded to on Friday, according to CHP officials.
Officers determined the body belonged to a 16-year-old girl, although the girl’s family had not reported her missing, the CHP said.
On Friday night at 10:20 p.m., officers received a call regarding a collision that occurred on East First Street in unincorporated Cloverdale, CHP officials said.
The preliminary investigation indicated a 1998 Volkswagen Bug and a 2008 BMW 535i sedan were racing along East First Street, east of the Russian River, over a bridge that crosses the river, according to the CHP.
There were several bystanders watching the race, CHP officials said.
Both the BMW and the Volkswagen were traveling west at a speed greater than 50 miles per hour, according to CHP officials.
The driver of the Volkswagen, a 16-year-old boy from Cloverdale, lost control of the vehicle and struck a raised concrete abutment, the CHP said.
Three females had been sitting on the concrete abutment prior to the collision.
One of the girls, the 16-year-old victim, was struck by the Volkswagen and propelled off the bridge, towards the riverbank, according to the CHP.
The driver of the BMW, a 17-year-old boy from Cloverdale, veered off into a dirt turnout after making contact with the Volkswagen, CHP officials said.
Officers determined alcohol was not a factor in the collision.
Parents of the involved parties arrived and assumed responsibility for their children and vehicles, CHP officials said.
At no time did any of the involved parties or spectators inform officers or emergency responders that the 16-year-old victim was present and had gone missing, according to the CHP.
The CHP is conducting an investigation along with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department and Office of the District Attorney.
The investigation will include an inquiry into why the victim’s presence and the fact that she was missing following the collision was not brought to the attention of emergency responders by the involved parties, CHP officials said.
Both vehicles involved in the collision have been impounded as evidence, according to the CHP.
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