Two hospitalized after car crash in Santa Rosa

A three-vehicle crash on Highway 101 in Santa Rosa on Thursday sent two people to the hospital, including the mother of a 2-month-old infant, who suffered minor injuries, authorities said.

The collision occurred just before 4 p.m. on northbound 101 near Bicentennial Way when a pickup driver briefly glanced away from stop-and-go traffic only to find it stalled ahead of him when he looked back, CHP Officer Will Brown said.

Santa Rosa resident Marcus Hartley, 43, was driving a Dodge Ram in the middle lane when he barreled into a Jeep Cherokee in front of him at 65 mph, the CHP said. The Jeep then struck the Nissan Altima in front of it, authorities said.

Nicole Garcia, 24, of Cloverdale, was driving the Jeep and suffered major head trauma in the crash. She was unconscious when emergency personnel arrived, and she had to be cut from the wreckage of the car, the CHP said.

Garcia was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with her baby, who was mostly unscathed, the CHP said.

“Those car seats are magic,” Brown said.

The 62-year-old Nissan driver, Catherine Bohrman, also of Cloverdale, suffered minor injuries, as well, and was taken to Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, the CHP said.

The incident left all three vehicles badly damaged and blocking the road, closing down two lanes of the highway for 45 minutes.

Traffic was backed up to Cotati until the wreckage could be moved to the side of the road and traffic could be allowed through again, Brown said.