Video of Kathleen Gomez Collier, Woman Who Drove Into River, Reveals Puzzling Demise

Authorities are unsure what led Kathleen Gomez Collier to drive into the Sacramento River

​Video of the last moments of Kathleen Gomez Collier -- the lost 47-year-old woman who drove into the Sacramento River while on the phone with her daughter  -- may produce more questions than answers, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Sergeant Bob Barkley of the CHP's South Sacramento office said the video clearly shows Collier's SUV stopped with its brake lights on for about 15 or 20 seconds while idling on the boat ramp of Vieira's Resort in Isleton on the Sacramento River. She then switched on her left-turn signal and drove into the river. Barkley is unsure why Collier felt she was anywhere but on a boat ramp. "There was a big river in front of her," says an incredulous Bradley. "It was clear enough on the video."

The video has not yet been released to the public. SF Weekly is in the process of requesting a copy.


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Barkley said that coroner's reports have dismissed the possibility of suicide. Toxicology reports are not due back for about a month -- and there is no word, at this time, if there was drugs or alcohol present in Collier's Ford Explorer. Our calls to the management of Vieiera's Resort have not yet been returned.

Collier, 47, was apparently lost and on the phone with her daughter at the time of her death at about 11:45 on Saturday night. She purportedly told the daughter to call the insurance company as the car was filling up with water.

Update, 12:58 p.m. Erin Komatsubara, a public information officer with the CHP, reports that the video is not being released yet as the case is still under investigation.

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