Multiple crashes across Sonoma County on rain-slick roads

A series of crashes on rain-slick roads in Sonoma County left multiple people with serious injuries, including a man ejected from his vehicle on Highway 101 in north Santa Rosa, officials said.

The driver of a 1996 Toyota Camry was rushed to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with life-threatening injuries after a 12:15 p.m. crash on southbound Highway 101 near River Road, CHP Officer Nick Herman said.

The driver lost control and was ejected from the car as it crashed into a ditch, landing on its roof, according to preliminary reports. An off-duty EMT in the area told officers the man appeared to be driving recklessly before the crash, Herman said. His name wasn’t immediately available.

That was one of nearly a dozen crashes throughout Sonoma County, most of which did not result in injuries.

“It has been very slippery out there, for sure,” Herman said.

A weak, autumnal storm system dropped barely enough rain to measure and was heaviest on the Sonoma Coast, according to the National Weather Service. A rain gauge in Sea Ranch showed 0.12 ?inch fell there, compared to 0.04-inch in Venado in the hills west of Healdsburg, which during winter storms usually receives the greatest amount of rain in the county.

But this was a weak fall storm that by mid-afternoon had come and gone, meteorologist Duane Dykema said.

The weather forecast shows sunny days and warm weather through next week followed by cooler temperatures.

“No rain in sight through the end of October,” Dykema said.

Saturday, several other people were taken to local hospitals with crash injuries, dispatchers said.

A pair of motorcyclists crashed about 1:15 p.m. on Calistoga Road near Harville Road, dispatchers said. One of the riders was taken to a hospital with injuries.

An ambulance crew on the way to the motorcycle crash was waylaid when they were flagged down on Porter Creek Road to a scene with three injured people, dispatchers said.

The crash occurred near a sharp curve on Porter Creek Road west of Calistoga Road, dispatchers said. Two people were rushed to the hospital, according to Redcom.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.