Man injured in fiery Windsor crash

A man suffered life-threatening burns Monday morning when his car crashed outside Windsor and caught fire, despite the efforts of numerous bystanders to extinguish the flames and pull him from the vehicle, the CHP said.

The Geo Metro, which belonged to someone from Windsor, crashed into a ditch on Eastside Road south of Riverfront Regional Park just before 9 a.m. The driver, who has not yet been identified, was headed north at a high rate of speed when he lost control and his car crashed into an oak tree, then overturned and caught fire, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said.

It’s not yet clear how fast he was traveling on the winding road. The posted speed limit is 45 mph and it appears he was going faster than that, Sloat said.

A number of passers-by stopped to help the man, including county road workers, Sloat said.

Cloverdale resident Christopher O’Gorman said he was on his way to work when he saw the car overturned in the ditch and smoke pouring out. Another man who’d been driving by in his truck was trying to get the person out with a crowbar but the door was stuck, O’Gorman said. The truck driver had a fire extinguisher, which O’Gorman used to keep the fire at bay. Other people arrived and helped as well.

“We were yelling for help at everyone who pulled up,” said O’Gorman, who was still shaken from the experience.

Those efforts, as well as those of a CHP officer, helped slow the fire, Sloat said.

The car had been burning for about a minute before Windsor firefighters were able to extinguish the flames and cut the person from the vehicle, O’Gorman estimated.

The driver suffered life-threatening injuries, Sloat said, adding, “He was alive when he left the scene.”

The man was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and then transferred to a regional burn center at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.

Police are still investigating the cause of the crash and haven’t ruled out alcohol as a factor, but excessive speed seems to be the primary cause, Sloat said. Authorities are still working to identify the victim, since the interior of the car, including the man’s identifying information, burned in the fire.

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