Crashes stall traffic, cause road closure

Several crashes stalled traffic in Sonoma County early Thursday, including a non-injury collision that blocked the Rohnert Park Expressway for about an hour, emergency personnel said.

That crash was first reported just after 8 a.m., and the investigation prompted police to direct traffic away from the expressway starting at Jasmine Circle to the west and Petaluma Hill Road to the east, according to the Rohnert Park Public Safety Department. The road was reopened at about 9 a.m.

Farther north in the county, a vehicle overturned on Highway 101 near Healdsburg, the CHP said. The single-car collision was reported at 8:12 a.m. near the Dry Creek Road offramp. Emergency dispatchers said that the occupants were able to get out of the vehicles and that no injuries were initially reported.

Also Thursday, CHP officers were investigating an SUV found on its roof in a creek down an embankment off Petrified Forest Road in the western hills of Sonoma County near the border with Napa.

Officers closed a northbound lane of Petrified Forest Road during the investigation.

A 7:12 a.m. caller reported seeing the vehicle in a creek bed near Porter Creek Road, the CHP said. Emergency personnel on scene said the SUV was cold, leading them to suspect the crash occurred late Wednesday night, according to the CHP.