A woman sought by the California Highway Patrol as a suspect in a 2018 vehicle collision that killed two people turned herself in at a county jail Wednesday, authorities said.
In a statement, the CHP said Courtney Peterson was booked into jail in connection with the collision last fall in unincorporated Alameda County.
Around 4:45 p.m. on Oct. 14, 2018, CHP officers responded to a report of a collision on Altamont Pass Road east of Dyer Road, and found a motorcycle and a Ford F-250 pickup truck.
The motorcycle’s driver and passenger, identified later by investigators as Mark Nida, 63, and Kathleen Seifert, 64, died at the scene.
Investigators later found evidence that the driver of the pickup, Peterson, was intoxicated at the time the Ford veered into oncoming traffic before the collision.
After investigators presented evidence to the district attorney’s office March 7, Peterson was charged with two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Shortly after CHP officers obtained a warrant Wednesday for her arrest, Peterson surrendered at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.
CHP Dublin area Commander Capt. Christopher Sherry spoke bluntly about Wednesday’s arrest.
“This collision was a preventable tragedy. Two innocent lives were lost because someone chose to drive under the influence of alcohol. I am pleased that the suspect in this crime has been arrested,” Sherry said.
“Nothing can bring back the lost lives, but I hope this arrest brings some comfort to the victim’s family and friends. More than one-third of all traffic-related deaths in California involve alcohol. As a community, we will not tolerate it.”
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.