A Sausalito man died and his companion seriously injured in a suspected drunk-driving accident in the southeastern part of Sonoma on Sunday, Jan. 26.
Jamie Narkunski, 35, was killed in the 12:20 p.m. accident after Abdulhadi Awad, 36, allegedly ran a red light in his 2008 gray BMW and crashed into Narkunski’s 2013 silver Subaru.
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Narkunski’s passenger, Natalie Weiss, 34, also of Sausalito, was transported via helicopter to Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa with major injuries, according to reports.
Reports indicate that Narkunski’s vehicle was struck at the corner of 8th Street and E. Napa Road after Awad’s vehicle, travelling southbound on 8th Street, allegedly blew a red light and slammed into the Subaru.
Awad, a Vallejo resident, was conscious and talking to officers at the scene, according to news reports. He was transported by ground ambulance to Queen of the Valley and will be there for a few days. Officers arrested Awad for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. He will be booked into jail upon release from the hospital.
Calls to authorities did not yield any additional information. It is unknown what Awad was doing in that part of Sonoma, a location popular with wine country tourists.
One person in the United States every 50 minutes dies in a drunk-driving crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In 2018, statistics noted that 10,511 died at the hands of a drunk driver. A driver is considered legally drunk in California with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent, which is the amount of alcohol in your blood at the time of testing.