Geyserville driver with infant son hits three cars, injures six

Speeding along a major Healdsburg route Monday morning with an open beer and his 2-month-old son, a Geyserville man crashed his pickup into three vehicles in a series of collisions spanning more than two blocks, according to Healdsburg police.

As many as six adults and the baby were taken to nearby Healdsburg District Hospital, mainly for what appeared to be minor injuries. The baby was found to be fine, Healdsburg Officer Frank Patane said.

Officers cited Robert David Harrison, 36, for driving with an open container of alcohol. Harrison reportedly had been drinking the beer but passed sobriety evaluations, and a blood-alcohol test showed he was well under the legal limit of 0.08.

Driving a 2013 Toyota Tundra, Harrison told officers he’d been heading back to Geyserville with the baby from a Healdsburg pharmacy. He said he was driving north on Healdsburg Avenue when he mistakenly stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake, Patane said.

Witnesses said the truck appeared to be moving at 50-60 mph in the 35-mph zone as it approached the Dry Creek Road intersection. Harrison clipped the back of a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV occupied by two people in the left turn lane for Dry Creek Road, Patane said.

After hitting the SUV, the Toyota then appeared to speed up as it went through the intersection, moving as fast as 70 mph, witnesses told police.

Healdsburg firefighters, on an inspection in the area, heard the first crash and saw the truck fishtailing as it continued up the avenue.

“We could hear the ongoing collisions,” said Linda Collister, fire division chief. They hopped in their truck, called in the crashes while asking for additional responders and headed for the injured.

The second crash involved a northbound GMC pickup with two people and then a bit farther up the road the Toyota hit a northbound Ford F-150 pickup with one occupant. A fifth vehicle also was damaged when a spare tire, knocked off one of the vehicles, flew across Healdsburg Avenue and hit it, officials said.

The Tundra came to a stop near Sunnyvale Drive, so damaged it no longer could move, Patane said. The baby was found in his infant carrier, properly restrained in the back seat.

Several people saw or heard the crashes, and as many as eight callers dialed 911, according to a police dispatcher.

The third crash happened in front of McConnell Chevrolet.

“I heard tires squealing. It just sounded like road rage,” said service advisor Keely Phillips, who characterized the crash as “really loud.”

“We all ran out there just to check. Our general manager brought out water and chairs” for the crash victims, she said.

“It definitely got my heart racing.”

Whether alcohol was a factor remains part of the investigation, along with driver and mechanical error. The crashes weren’t considered a matter of hit-and-run driving, Patane said.

The investigation also will be sent to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office for consideration of a reckless driving charge, Patane said.

Because of the severity of the overall incident, officers also took Harrison’s license and are asking DMV officials to test the man’s driving to determine if he can reclaim it, Patane said.

The baby’s mother took custody of the boy.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.