Highway 101 crash in Petaluma injures three, tangles traffic

Multiple vehicles, including a motorcycle, crashed late Monday morning on Highway 101 in Petaluma, blocking northbound traffic and injuring three people, according to a Petaluma fire official and CHP reports.

A 52-year-old Petaluma man on a 2005 Yamaha motorcycle was attempting to lane-split when he crashed into the rear of a Toyota Rav 4 at 10:52 a.m. just north of East Washington Street, according to the CHP. The motorcyclist was identified as Michael McGrady and the Rav 4 driver was Obdoulia Rodriguea, 47, of Sonoma.

Initial reports indicated as many as six vehicles were involved, but when the crash was sorted out it appeared to involve the motorcycle, a car and a water truck, said Petaluma fire Battalion Chief Mike Medeiros.

The motorcycle rider apparently was thrown into one of the traffic lanes and firefighters and paramedics arrived to find the man being cared for by other drivers, Medeiros said.

Two ambulances took three people to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with a variety of injuries including broken bones.

Northbound traffic backed up into northern Marin County, creating lengthy delays for drivers trying to get up the highway. Southbound traffic also slowed extensively due to gawkers, according to crash reports.

This crash was just a short distance south of an Aug. 9, late-morning crash involving eight vehicles that collided on the highway near Corona Road. That time, a huge car carrier smashed into a vehicle, starting a chain-reaction crash turning traffic into clogged slog throughout the area. One man was injured.

Earlier this month, the state Assembly charged the CHP with coming up with new rules for lane splitting.