East Petaluma crash injures three

Three people were injured early Wednesday in an east Petaluma crash, including a teen whose injuries initially appeared potentially life-threatening, a Petaluma traffic sergeant said.

The collision happened just before 6:45 a.m. when the driver of a Lexus SUV turned left from Rainier Circle onto southbound Sonoma Mountain Parkway and collided with a northbound pickup, Sgt. Ron Klein said.

Both drivers were hurt, but a 14-year-old girl in the back seat of the Lexus was the most severely injured, though she was reportedly in critical but stable condition on Wednesday night, Klein said.

Police believe the girl was not wearing a seatbelt when her mother, Janice Seale, 59, collided with a Dodge Ram driven by Petaluma resident Gael Pablo-Leon, 23, Klein said.

Both he and Seale suffered head and other injuries as a result of the crash but were not believed to be in grave danger, police said. Like the girl, whose name has not been released, they were taken by separate ambulances to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. The girl was later flown to Children's Hospital Oakland, with injuries to her head, vertebra and internal organs, Klein said.

More than two hours after the crash, police still had the northbound Sonoma Mountain Parkway lanes closed so officers could investigate.

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