Petaluma man hospitalized after crashing car into ditch

<p>A Petaluma man remained in critical condition Thursday after driving his pickup truck into a ditch off Bodega Avenue, apparently as the result of a heart attack, fire and law enforcement officials said.</p><p>John Delprete, 77, suffered moderate injuries in Wednesday’s 3:30 p.m. accident on a semi-rural section of Bodega Avenue west of Petaluma, but his heart condition remained life-threatening, authorities said.</p><p>Delprete was apparently heading toward Petaluma when he suffered a heart attack and his 1997 Dodge pickup drifted off the road near Price Drive and Cleveland Lane, officials said.</p><p>Earlier reports that he crashed into a house were discounted by fire personnel, who said the pickup crashed into a ditch off the side of the road, instead.</p><p>Passersby witnessed his crash and found him in cardiac arrest, Wilmar Fire Chief Mark Heine said.</p><p>Some of the witnesses began CPR before fire personnel arrived, contributing to Delprete’s survival, Heine said.</p><p>Emergency medical personnel took advanced life-saving measures that helped revive Delprete, who was taken to Petaluma Valley Hospital and then Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Heine said.</p><p>The damage to the truck was moderate, and it did not appear Delprete’s injuries from the crash were severe, CHP Sgt. Bart Lewis said.</p><p>Additional details were not available Thursday morning, he said.</p>