Highway 101 crash near Cotati leaves injured driver on steep hillside

Firefighters had to retrieve an injured driver off of a steep embankment Sunday after the man’s car ran off of Highway 101 and rolled down the Cotati grade hillside, said a Rancho Adobe fire captain Monday.

Driver Jacob Waltrip, 19, of Santa Rosa apparently had a seizure just before the crash, according to the CHP.

Waltrip suffered a broken arm and cuts and was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

He remained hospitalized in fair condition Tuesday.

He crashed at about 12:30 p.m. while driving down Highway 101, south of Railroad Avenue.

His 1997 Honda Accord ran off of the roadway and rolled several times, ending up about 75 feet down, finally stopped by thick weeds and brush.

Rancho Adobe and Petaluma firefighters responded to the call, which required a labor-intensive effort to get the semi-unconscious man from his vehicle to an ambulance waiting below on Stony Point Road, Rancho Adobe Capt. Tim Caldwell said.

“It was a challenge just due to the terrain,” Caldwell said.

Several firefighters helped hike him down part of the way, carrying him on a litter with a rescue line attached, in case anyone slipped, Caldwell said.

Waltrip was loaded into a battalion chief’s truck and then driven the rest of the way down to Stony Point Road.