Westside Road crash injures two in Forestville

Two men suffered major injuries Thursday morning when their car veered off Westside Road in Forestville, slammed into a large tree and landed 40 feet down an embankment.

The accident happened around 10:50 a.m. about a mile and a half from River Road. The black Pontiac GTO was westbound around a corner when for unknown reasons the driver crossed the road and went down the opposite embankment, said Max Ming, chief of the Forestville Fire Protection District.

Both men were pinned in the vehicle and sustained severe injuries but remained conscious during the rescue, Ming said.

“The driver was over-the-top elated to see us,” Ming said.

Firefighters had to cut the roof off the car to get the men out, and haul them up the embankment on backboards, Ming said.

Both men were taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, the driver by the Sonoma County Sheriff Office’s helicopter, Henry 1, the passenger, whose injuries were less severe, by ground ambulance, Ming said.

The men were in their 30s but Ming didn’t have information about their residences.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 707-521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.