Man pinned under garbage truck in Sonoma crash

Firefighters early Tuesday cut free a man trapped in his SUV, wedged tightly underneath a flatbed garbage truck following a rear-ender crash on Arnold Drive.

The injured man, Sergio Hernandez, 51, of Pittsburg was flown by medical helicopter to Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa, said CHP Officer Marc Renspurger.

Sonoma Valley firefighters arrived in three minutes to the 5:40 a.m. crash near Hanna Boys Center and found the man, still conscious, and stuck inside his GMC Jimmy with the larger vehicle over top.

With help from Glen Ellen firefighters, it took an extensive effort to get to the man, using special equipment to lift the 1993 Redwood Empire Disposal dumpster hauler off of the SUV and then cut much of the mangled roof and front end of the vehicle away from the driver, who was alert and conscious.

“The back of the truck was into the driver’s door. We had to lift the truck off of the vehicle to get him out. His legs were pinned underneath the dash,” Sonoma Valley fire Battalion Chief Bob Norrbom said. “Once we got the roof off, we put a paramedic in the car to start an IV and get some pain medication” for the man.

Ten firefighters had the man out of the vehicle by 6:35 a.m.

Hernandez had been driving north on Arnold Drive when he came upon the stopped disposal truck in his lane and hit the back, crushing the front of the SUV and slipping underneath the flatbed.

Garbage truck driver Jesus Albavera Mendiola, 46, of Santa Rosa wasn’t hurt and Hernandez appeared to have moderate injuries, Renspurger said.

Traffic following the 5:40 a.m. crash was funneled to one lane for about two hours.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter at Rossmannreport.