Young single mom killed by suspected DUI driver in Santa Rosa

(KRON) — Jessica Avila Munoz was driving to pick up her 13-year-old daughter from a Santa Rosa school when a suspected drunk driver ran a red light and crashed his truck into Munoz’s Honda, officials said. The 31-year-old mother died from her injuries on Friday .

Munoz was a juvenile corrections counselor at Sonoma County Juvenile Hall, Santa Rosa Police Department Sgt. Patricia Seffens told KRON4. As a sworn peace officer, she worked for the Sonoma County Probation Department.

“Jessica was a dedicated and caring single mother, who was known as full of life. Jessica was born and raised in Sonoma County, attended Santa Rosa Junior College and Sonoma State University. She became a first-generation college graduate in her family,” the Peace Officers Research Association of California wrote.

PORAC and Sonoma County Law Enforcement Association are raising donations to help support Munoz’s daughter, sister and mother.

PORAC president Damian Evans told KRON4, “It is really a horrible situation. She should have had a long career with us, not this.”

The Dodge pickup truck driver who allegedly caused the deadly wreck, Nhan Van Nguyen, never should have been behind the wheel. Nguyen’s driver’s license was suspended and he had four prior DUI arrests on his criminal record, Santa Rosa police said.

Nguyen ran a red light Friday afternoon at the intersection of Lombardi Court and Sebastopol Road before his truck T-boned Munoz’s Honda, police said. The impact from the collision pushed the Honda into a Toyota Prius.

Officers at the crash scene determined that Nguyen, 68, of Santa Rosa, was under the influence of alcohol, police said. Officers booked him into jail on suspicion of felony DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter.

Munoz was extricated from her car and died at a nearby hospital.

PORAC’s Fund A Hero page created for the victim writes, “Your donations will go to help her daughter and family while they pay for her funeral costs and adjust to their new reality of a future without her.”

Nguyen is being held in jail with no bail, inmate records show. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday morning.

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