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By Elise Cox on

Willits Woman, 20, Killed in Crash at Top of Willits Grade

A 20-year-old Willits woman, Sophia Johnson, died when the pickup she was driving crashed on southbound Highway 101 at the top of the Willits grade early Friday, the California Highway Patrol said. Her 19-year-old passenger was hospitalized with moderate injuries.

Willits News
A dark, stylized illustration with the words "FATAL ACCIDENT" in large white capital letters above a small-caps line reading "PUBLIC SAFETY," set over a road and receding.
A MendoLocal.News editorial illustration. MendoLocal.News (CC BY 4.0) generated with Claude Code.

Editor's note: I spoke to Johnson's mother. The family is devastated by their loss and are finding the comments on social media very painful. While we are leaving this post as is, we ask you to respect the family's grief and refrain from discussing the accident on social media.

WILLITS, Calif. — A 20-year-old Willits woman died Friday morning after the pickup she was driving crashed on Highway 101 at the top of the Willits grade, authorities said.

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office identified the driver as Sophia Johnson. The Sheriff's Office said her next of kin have been notified.

The crash happened at about 6:56 a.m. Nov. 6 on southbound Highway 101, about 0.7 miles north of Mobile Village Way, according to Officer Olegario Marin of the California Highway Patrol's Ukiah Area office. Johnson was driving a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup and died from her injuries.

Her passenger, 19-year-old Oscar Octavio Carilloduran, had moderate injuries and was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, the CHP said.

The highway was closed from the time of the crash until 9:44 a.m. One lane then reopened, and both lanes were open by about 10:18 a.m.

The CHP has not said what caused the crash or whether speed, impairment, weather, or road conditions played a role. The collision is still under investigation.