Single-car crash in Petaluma results in major injuries, damaged artwork

A man sustained major injuries Thursday night after losing control of his vehicle and slamming into a public art sculpture at the corner of Frates Road and Lakeville Highway, police said.

The single-car crash occurred a little after 9 p.m. Thursday, when the driver of a white 4-door Toyota Prius, “traveling at high rate of speed westbound on Frates Road” toward Lakeville Highway, lost control and drove over the raised center median and into the small park at the southeast corner of Frates and Lakeville. There it struck the base of an 18-foot-tall public sculpture, then overturned and came to rest in the roadway.

“The occupant was trapped in the vehicle and had to be extricated by (Petaluma Fire Department) personnel,” police said. “No other involved vehicles were located.”

The driver, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, was later identified by police as 42-year-old Kyle Swarthout of Petaluma. He sustained head, chest and foot trauma and is currently hospitalized and in stable condition, according to police Lt. Tim Lyons.

Eastbound Frates Road was closed until around 11 p.m. Thursday as city Public Works crews cleaned up the park and vehicle debris.

Lyons said Swarthout was going at least 70 mph before the crash. He said alcohol was not believed to be a factor, although police are awaiting results of a full toxicology screening.

The 18-foot-tall sculpture – a public artwork called “Home Stretch” by Donna Billick, installed in 2007 – was not badly damaged, according to Lyons.

“The base is made of solid concrete so it fared pretty well,” he said. “But it took out two park benches and destroyed some of the landscaping.”

Anyone who witnessed the crashed is asked to contact Traffic Officer Ben Schott at 707-778-4598.