Two die in wrong-way driver crash near Marin-Sonoma line

Two people died early Sunday morning in a three-car crash involving a wrong-way driver near the Marin-Sonoma county line, the CHP said.

The CHP started getting calls about someone driving northbound in the southbound lane of Highway 101 in Novato a couple minutes after midnight, Officer Andrew Barclay said in a news release. Officers hurried to the area to try to find the car, but as they were on their way, a caller reported the wrong-way driver, a man in a 1995 Toyota Camry wagon, had collided with another vehicle traveling the correct way in the same lane. The second car, a 2013 Nissan Sentra, held a male driver and female passenger. Both cars were traveling at freeway speeds when they collided near the Redwood Landfill overcrossing south of Petaluma.

The Toyota ended up in the center divide and the Nissan flipped, skidded and hit a southbound 2006 Dodge Ram.

The drivers of the Toyota and Nissan were pronounced dead at the crash site. The Marin County Coroner’s Office is waiting to release their names until family has been contacted. The Nissan’s female passenger suffered moderate to major injuries and was taken to the hospital.

The driver of the Dodge had no immediate complaints and was not taken to the hospital, Barclay said. His vehicle sustained moderate damage.

Police believe alcohol factored in the crash, but are awaiting toxicology results for confirmation.

You can reach Staff Writer Jamie Hansen at 521-5205 or jamie.hansen@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jamiehansen.