A Pleasanton woman died in a solo-vehicle crash along San Pablo Dam Road in Orinda overnight, the California Highway Patrol reported on Monday.
The Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as 33-year-old Domenica Maurice.
The investigation unfolded at about 12:20 a.m. Monday when Contra Costa CHP received a report about a crash down an embankment on San Pablo Dam Road, just north of Bear Creek Road.
Upon arrival, emergency responders determined that the 2013 Kia Optima went off San Pablo Dam Road to the right side, crashed into and through a metal guardrail, and then careened down a steep embankment hitting several trees along the way, according to the CHP.
The driver — later identified as Maurice — appeared to have not been wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the Optima as a result, according to the CHP. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
No other vehicles or parties were involved, according to the CHP. Investigators are still trying to determine whether alcohol or drugs were a factor. Anyone who witnessed the crash or the events leading up to it can contact Contra Costa CHP in Martinez at 925-646-4980.
In other news
* Family and friends were set to join together for a vigil in downtown yesterday evening in a show of support for Pleasanton native Sydney “Syd” West and to continue momentum toward finding the 19-year-old woman who has been missing for three weeks.
Syd West, a former Foothill High School student who returned to the Bay Area for college after her family moved from Pleasanton to North Carolina several years ago, was last seen in San Francisco near the Golden Gate Bridge during the early-morning hours on Sept. 30. She is considered at-risk, according to authorities.
There were no new updates on her disappearance as of Monday afternoon, according to Sgt. Michael Andraychak of the San Francisco Police Department, the lead agency on the case.
“We are asking anyone who may have information about Sydney to please contact investigators. We love Sydney, we miss Sydney, and we want more than anything to have her found safe and brought back to our home,” her father, Jay West, said in a video released in North Carolina earlier this month.
The West family held a vigil in their neighborhood in Chapel Hill, N.C., last week as part of their effort to keep attention on the case.
They then organized a similar gathering in their former hometown of Pleasanton on Thursday evening in Lions Wayside Park on First Street. The event — which was set to be held after the Weekly’s press deadline — was to be in person, with health and safety protocols in place, as well as broadcast in real time on Facebook Live.
“This vigil is intended to bring together the family’s California-based community, celebrate their love for Sydney, and talk about the help needed to keep up the momentum to find Sydney. The family feels blessed with so many friends and family who share their desperation to find Syd,” supporters said.
Syd West is described as white, standing 5-foot-10 and weighing 130-135 pounds, with blue eyes and light-brown hair (worn in a bun on the top of her head that morning). She was last seen on Sept. 30 wearing black leggings, a teal hoodie and her favorite old slip on Vans (dark green and black print). She may have been carrying a black backpack, according to investigators.
She last made contact with family and friends on Sept. 29, and was spotted near Crissy Field and the Golden Gate Bridge during the early-morning hours of Sept. 30, according to the Orange County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Office which has been in contact with the SFPD.
Syd West is considered to be at-risk due to depression, according to the SFPD. A family member reported her missing on Oct. 2 after she had not been heard from for nearly three days.
She grew up in Pleasanton and attended Foothill High during her freshman and sophomore years before the family moved to North Carolina. Orange County Sheriff’s officials said West had been living in the Bay Area since late August, stating that she was “until recently” a student at University of California at Berkeley and since had been residing with friends in San Francisco.
“Sydney, or Syd as she likes to be called, is a kind, caring young woman who has a way with younger children, especially her 10-year-old sister who she’s adored since the day she was born and who misses her desperately,” mother Kimberly West said in the video released Oct. 8.
The parents were sitting together in the living room holding a framed senior class portrait of Syd West during the 90-second video.
Jay West described his daughter Syd as a talented musician, athlete, artist and student who is very much missed.
“This is every parent’s nightmare, and all we want is for our daughter Sydney to be found safe and brought home to our family,” he said.
The case is being investigated by the missing persons section of the SFPD special victims unit.
Anyone with information on West’s disappearance can contact SFPD at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 (847411) with “SFPD” at the start of the text message. Those with connections to Syd West in North Carolina can also contact her hometown sheriff’s office at 919-245-2909.
To follow updates on the case on social media, visit the Find Sydney West Facebook page, follow on Instagram at find_sydney_west or use the hashtag #FindSydneyWest.
* A person was arrested after allegedly trying to elude Livermore police during an incident Monday that included a neighborhood sheltering in place after a report of a man with a gun roaming along Pine Street.
The arrestee — a 36-year-old Livermore man whose name was not released — was taken into custody on suspicion of resisting arrest and drug charges, according to the Livermore Police Department.
The situation unfolded around 2:20 p.m. Monday when police received a call about a man with a gun in the 1600 block of Pine Street. Responding officers soon began to search the surrounding area, according to police.
“Officers diligently searched for the subject, while also warning surrounding residents to shelter in place for their safety,” police said.
Police eventually located their suspect, but he allegedly ignored commands to surrender and led officers on a foot chase. He was ultimately taken into custody in the 600 block of Andrews Street, police said.
Officers then continued to scour the neighborhood and soon found a replica firearm discarded in the area, police said.
Livermore police K-9 units, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office drone team and the East Bay Regional Park District Police Department’s air unit all assisted in the search operation.
–Jeremy Walsh
