SUV driver killed in Petaluma in collision with grain truck

A driver was killed in a head-on collision east of Petaluma that closed the road for hours Friday.|

The driver of an SUV was killed Friday in a head-on collision with a big rig east of Petaluma in crash that closed the road for hours Friday evening.

The wreck was reported at 3:48 p.m. on Old Adobe Road between Frates and Casa Grande roads when a white Chevrolet Trailblazer heading south slammed into an empty grain truck, according to fire officials and dispatch logs.

The driver and sole occupant of the SUV, who was not identified, was pronounced dead at the crash site, said Herb Wandel, battalion chief for Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District.

CHP officials could not be reached for comment Friday evening.

But according to Wandel, the SUV must have been traveling fast to create the impact it did with the comparatively slow moving tanker truck.

The truck had recently passed through an intersection, Wandel said.

“Clearly the truck driver tried to avoid the collision as best he could,” Wandel said.

Initial reports of a fire near the entrance to the Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park were unfounded, but firefighters did need to absorb a significant amount of fuel and fluids from the vehicles, both of which were destroyed.

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