Santa Rosa man convicted in fatal DUI crash

A Santa Rosa man reached a plea deal and was convicted in a fiery crash that killed a 17-year-old girl, whose death drew hundreds of mourners to a candlelight vigil and memorial service.

Jaden Pruett-Steed, 22, pleaded no contest in Sonoma County Superior Court to one count of vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence causing injury, records show.

Santa Rosa police said last year that his blood alcohol level was 0.11% when he crashed on Montgomery Drive near Spring Lake Regional Park on Oct. 13, 2023.

Pruett-Steed was also convicted of two counts of child molestation because the crash involved two victims who were under the age of 18, including the deceased victim.

According to court records, vehicular manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Combined with the other charges plus their enhancements, Pruett-Steed faces a maximum sentence of 16 years and four months in prison.

He was originally charged with murder, plus numerous other drunken driving charges, in addition to the charges involved in Monday’s plea deal. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Friday so a judge could decide if there was enough evidence to put him on trial.

Instead, the above charges were dismissed and he will now proceed to sentencing on November 19 before Sonoma County Judge Mark Urioste.

Emma Rose Walker, who attended Montgomery High School before transferring to Ridgway High School, was killed in the crash. Her family said she graduated early after completing accelerated courses at Ridgway and planned to attend Santa Rosa Junior College.

Two young men injured in the crash were identified in court documents as Christian Pappas and Samuel Hendrex. Pappas was 19 and Hendrex 17 at the time.

Walker’s family said Pruett-Steed picked her up from a babysitting job in Oakmont at a candlelight vigil last year and they were on their way home the night of the accident.

According to authorities, Pruett-Steed and the three passengers – Walker, Pappas and Hendrex – were traveling west on Montgomery Drive in a Mazda 3 sedan.

They were on a narrow road in a wooded, barely lit area with no sidewalks when they approached a curve and went off the road, police said.

Officials said the car went airborne and struck a large tree branch before rolling an unknown number of times and landing in a nearby creek bed. Then it caught fire.

Police believe the car traveled approximately 75 meters from where it left the road.

Pruett-Steed and Hendrex, who were behind him, got out of the car before two passersby helped them.

Hendrex returned and got Pappas out of the car. But Walker was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Pruett-Steed had minor injuries, but the two surviving passengers were airlifted to area hospitals for life-threatening injuries, police said.

Pappas’ family said on a GoFundMe fundraising account that he was trapped in the burning vehicle and suffered third- and fourth-degree burns to his legs.

He was treated at UC Davis Medical Center, they said.

This story is developing and will be updated.

You can reach staff writer Colin Atagi at [email protected]. On Twitter @colin_atagi