Crime & Safety
Woman Killed, Another Seriously Injured in 101 Crash Near Olompali
Accident occurred at nearly same spot as where Petaluma teen Danny Cox died a month ago
A woman was killed and another seriously injured in a crash Wednesday afternoon on Highway 101 a few miles north of Novato, sources said.
A Chevrolet Aveo struck a tree along southbound 101 near just south of the Redwood Landfill flyover at about 1:20 p.m., said Battalion Chief Gerald McCarthy.
The driver, yet unidentified by the California Highway Patrol, was declared dead when first-responders arrived, and a female passenger was trapped in the vehicle and seriously injured, McCarthy said.
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The location of the crash was just a few yards from where Petaluma teen Danny Cox on Aug. 7. A long line of mature oak trees runs parallel to the southbound lanes between the Silveria ranch and Olompali.
“It was two trees away,” McCarthy said.
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Novato Fire District crews received the emergency call at 1:21 p.m. and arrived at the site just north of the at 1:30 p.m., McCarthy said. The vehicle with extrication equipment arrived three minutes later and the crews focused on the passenger, he said.
“The vehicle left the road and rolled over into one of the trees, so the top of the car impacted the tree,” McCarthy said.
It took 15 minutes to get the injured woman out of the car, he said. She was loaded into a CHP helicopter that landed on the highway and flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
“It was a very technical procedure to remove her,” he said. “She was conscious and had multiple traumatic injuries.”
Southbound lanes were blocked minutes after the crash and traffic backed up toward Petaluma, the CHP said.
McCarthy said initial emergency calls said a large truck was involved in the crash and was on top of the smaller car and that an infant was involved in the crash. Those reports proved to be untrue, he said.
— Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
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