Major injury accident ties up SR-37

A collision between a large truck and a small sedan injured one, who was airlifted to a Napa hospital.|

A major injury collision between a large delivery truck and a small car on eastbound State Route 37 on Tuesday, July 17, led to an extended traffic jam that lasted well into the commute hours.

According to a CHP Marin Facebook post, the accident occurred at 2:14 p.m., about half a mile from the intersection of SR-37 with the southern end of Arnold Drive, or Highway 121.

The CHP officer describing the scene wrote that "a Toyota Matrix with its entire engine compartment and a large portion of the driver side of the vehicle (was) under the lift gate of the truck.”

The CHP officer, posting on Facebook, continued, “It is unknown if any distractions were associated with the collision. It does not appear that drugs and/or alcohol were a factor.”

On-site responders had difficulty reaching the driver of the Toyota, and had to pull the two vehicles apart before they could use the “jaws of life” to extricate the driver from his vehicle.

The delivery truck was signed as from Berryessa Brewing Company out of Winters. The driver, a 30-year-old man, was airlifted by helicopter to Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa at 4:15 p.m., with what were described as “major injuries.”

The CHP report indicated he had a possible fracture in his left leg, and lacerations to his face, right arm and hand.

Rachel Hundley, a Sonoma City Councilmember, was several cars behind the scene of the accident at the time and she reported a number of vehicles swerved around the crash and kept going. But some drivers stopped, including Hundley who called in the accident.

One of the drivers who stopped leaped to the crushed sedan, opened its doors and asked if the driver was OK, staying with him until help arrived.

Hundley said the unidentified Samaritan had acted immediately when he realized what happened. “He stayed right with the guy until the police showed up and then stayed out of their way,” she told the Index-Tribune.

Hundley called him “a total hero” in her Facebook post about the accident.

“I was on the phone with dispatch so I didn’t get an up-close look,” Hundley said, “but I do know his hands were covered in blood when he got back to his car, because he handed me a bottle of bleach and asked me to open it.” He used the bleach to clean his hands.

Hundley herself stayed on the scene for about 15 minutes until responding officers told her she could leave.

Traffic was managed by officers who arrived quickly on the scene, after some expressed concern that motorists on SR 37 were making illegal turns to avoid the congestion.

All lanes in both directions were opened by 4:05 p.m., according to the CHP, but traffic remained congested. Drivers reported being stuck in traffic for up to 90 minutes on SR-37 between Lakeville Highway and Highway 121.

Rachel Hundley and JM Berry contributed to this report.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.