Novato woman charged with murder after DUI crash killed mother and aunt

Kenia Marcela Alegria, 41, of Novato, was arrested and criminally charged after a single-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 101 south of Petaluma Boulevard South that prosecutors say killed her mother and aunt and occurred while she was allegedly drunk and on probation. Prosecutors say her blood-alcohol level was at least 0.20%, more than double California’s legal limit of 0.08%.

The California Highway Patrol reported that Alegria’s BMW veered off Highway 101 on Feb. 11 and rolled over, throwing occupants from the vehicle. Teresa Renderos, 61, of Novato, was pronounced dead at the crash site, CHP said. Investigators described the crash as a high-speed single-vehicle overturn on a wet roadway in some accounts; emergency crews took Alegria and another passenger to hospitals.

A second passenger, identified by the Sonoma County coroner’s office as Flor Vasquez, 60, of Novato and reported by local officials as Alegria’s aunt, was ejected and hospitalized after the Feb. 11 collision and was later pronounced dead at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, the coroner’s office said. Alegria sustained major injuries and was treated at Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital before being released and booked into the Sonoma County jail.

Prosecutors filed a criminal complaint charging Alegria with murder in the death of Teresa Renderos, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and counts related to an alleged second intoxicated driving offense within seven years of a prior DUI, court records show. The prosecution alleges her blood-alcohol level was 0.20% or more. The legal limit is 0.08%.

Court filings and prior court records show Alegria has a previous DUI arrest from January 2022 in Mendocino County. She pleaded guilty in March 2023 and was placed on three years’ probation with a court-ordered condition that she not drive with any amount of alcohol in her system; that probation was due to expire next month, according to court information. CHP Officer David deRutte said a murder charge was recommended because Alegria had a previous DUI arrest in January 2022.

Authorities booked Alegria after her release from Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital; one reporting timeline places that booking on Tuesday, Feb. 17. She appeared in Sonoma County Superior Court on Thursday, Feb. 19, before Judge Joseph Kalaqshian and did not enter a plea that day. She appeared with her right arm in a cast and sling and is being held without bail at the Sonoma County jail in Santa Rosa. “She did not enter a plea Thursday, a spokesperson for the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office said.”

The case is now assigned to a public defender and a return date to enter a plea has been set, court officials said. Prosecutors have charged Alegria with murder and related DUI counts while criminal investigators and the coroner continue to compile collision and toxicology reports that will form the evidentiary basis for the charges.