3-vehicle crash kills 1, injures another on Highway 101 near Petaluma

A multi-vehicle crash killed a Mendocino County man and injured his passenger on southbound Highway 101 Saturday afternoon, just north of the Sonoma-Marin county line, causing long delays in traffic.

Two pickup trucks and a minivan were involved in the crash, which was reported to the Sonoma County CHP at about 5:44 p.m., the CHP said.

Officers suspect the collision began when the driver of a Chevrolet Silverado, which was carrying the Willits man and his passenger, struck the rear of a Ford F250 that had either slowed or stopped for traffic ahead, CHP spokesman David deRutte said.

The Ford was likely in the fast lane, while the Chevrolet was either in the middle lane or right behind the Ford when the crash happened, deRutte said.

It was unclear what caused the driver of the Chevrolet to hit the Ford, which was occupied by a lone man, though speed was a possible factor, deRutte said.

“It didn’t look like there was any slowing down approaching the slowed or stopped traffic ahead,” deRutte said of the Chevrolet’s driver, adding it was not yet clear how fast that truck was going at the time of the crash.

A third vehicle, a Nissan Quest, then collided with the two trucks, which veered left and struck the highway’s median’s barrier.

Details about why the Nissan struck both vehicles and how the trucks ended up hitting the median barrier were still under investigation, deRutte said.

Traffic was rerouted away from the crash site in both directions, causing traffic to back up on the highway, a Facebook post from Marin’s CHP office said.

Southbound traffic was diverted to Lakeville Highway in Petaluma and to Highway 37 in Novato, the post said.

A CHP helicopter unit was also sent to the scene, according to the CHP’s Golden Gate Division Air Operations Facebook page.

Petaluma Police sent out a warning to drivers about the closure Saturday evening via Nixle. The agency canceled the warning just before 9 p.m.

The driver of the Chevrolet, who deRutte described as an elderly man, was pronounced dead at the scene. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, which operates the county’s coroner’s office, could not release his name on Sunday.

The man’s passenger, a woman, was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with major injuries, though they weren’t considered life threatening, deRutte said.

The drivers of the two other vehicles, both men who were driving alone, were not injured, deRutte said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nashellytweets.