Two Men Identified in Deadly Highway 101 Crash

Marin County coroner’s officials Monday identified the two men who died in a head-on crash on Highway 101 in Novato.

Sheriff’s Lt. Keith Boyd says the crash, which was reported just after 1 a.m. Sunday on the highway at the Silviera Ranch/San Antonio Road exit, happened when a man drove in the wrong direction.

“Sheriff’s Communications advised Coroner Division personnel a vehicle, later determined to be a Toyota, was travelling northbound in the southbound lanes when it collided with a Nissan which had been travelling southbound,” Boyd said in a news release.

The driver of that Toyota has been identified as 61-year-old Mark Verdi of Novato. 66-year-old Efren Gonzalez of Union City was driving the Nissan, coroner’s officials said.

Both men were pronounced dead at the scene. A woman was a passenger in the Nissan, and she was hospitalized with injuries described as “moderate to major.”

“At this time an investigation by the California Highway Patrol and the Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division is underway into the circumstances of the collision and subsequent deaths,” Boyd said. “The Coroner Division’s investigation into the cause, manner, and circumstances of the death are ongoing and no further information regarding the investigation will be released at this time.”