Driver hospitalized after Lakeville Highway collision

A five-vehicle crash on Lakeville Highway south of Petaluma on Friday afternoon sent one man to the hospital and snarled traffic on the busy road.

The Highway Patrol identified the injured man as Joe Carl Scoma, 61, of Sonoma, and said he suffered major to moderate injuries. He was transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where he was reported in fair condition Saturday.

Scoma was driving his 2012 Honda Accord westbound on Lakeville Highway around 3:30 p.m. when he attempted to make a left-hand turn into a driveway a few hundred feet west of Stage Gulch Road.

At the time, traffic was backed up for vehicles in the eastbound lane to turn left onto Stage Gulch.

The Highway Patrol said one driver in the queue allowed Scoma to turn in front of him, and as he did, the right side of his Honda car was hit by an oncoming Freightliner truck driven by Frank Bethke, 54 of Placerville.

The Honda spun and hit a Toyota Corolla, which was pushed into a Volkswagen Jetta, which in turn hit a vehicle with a trailer.

The Freightliner, meanwhile, jackknifed, and went off the road, colliding with a fence. The truck’s attached trailers blocked the eastbound lane.

Emergency crews allowed some vehicles to pass though the scene while the accident was investigated. Both lanes were eventually opened at 5:09 p.m.