CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A Berkeley woman died Sunday evening as a result of injuries she suffered when the car she was riding in went off Highway 20 and into Clear Lake.

Francis Strassman, 79, died at UC Davis Medical Center, where she had been flown following the crash, according to a report from the California Highway Patrol's Clear Lake Area office.

The CHP said Strassman was riding with Susan Marie Suarez, 57, of Cobb in Suarez's 2008 Toyota Yaris on Highway 20 when the crash occurred just before 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

Suarez was driving eastbound, just east of Hillside Lane near Clearlake Oaks, at an unknown speed when she lost control on the wet roadway and went off the highway's south edge and into Clear Lake, with the car becoming submerged, the CHP said.

A passerby stopped and helped to pull the women from the car, which by that time had been submerged for an unknown period of time, according to the CHP.

The CHP said Strassman was unconscious at the scene, with radio reports indicating Northshore Fire paramedics were doing CPR on her as they transported her to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake.

Strassman was flown from Clearlake to UC Davis Medical Center, where the CHP said she was pronounced dead at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Suarez suffered minor injuries, with complaints of pain to her back and neck. The CHP said she was taken to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, where she was treated and released.

The CHP said both women were using their safety equipment, and alcohol and drugs do not appear to be contributing factors in the crash.

CHP Officer Mark Crutcher is the crash's investigator.

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