Street racing causes major accident with injuries in Petaluma

A Casa Grande High School student allegedly street racing a second car along Sonoma Mountain Parkway in Petaluma slammed into a third vehicle Thursday afternoon causing multiple injuries, according to Petaluma police.

The two cars raced south down the four-lane divided road just before 3 p.m. at up to 80 mph when a Mercury Grand Marquis traveling north made a left turn toward Clary Way and was struck by a BMW driven by a 17-year-old, Petaluma Police Lt. Tim Lyons said.

The driver of a gray or black Subaru WRX with tinted windows drove off and is wanted by police, he said.

A 14-year-old rear seat passenger of the Mercury was critically injured and transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital before being flown to Children’s Hospital Oakland, Lyons said. The teenager remained in critical condition Thursday night.

The teen’s grandfather, who was driving the Mercury, suffered broken ribs and his grandmother in the front passenger seat suffered minor injuries, Lyons said. Both grandparents were taken to Petaluma Valley Hospital.

The 17-year-old, whose name is being withheld because of his age, was arrested for street racing causing injury, Lyons said.

Three teenage girls, also students at Casa Grande, were in the BMW at the time of the accident and were brought to Petaluma Valley Hospital for minor injuries, Lyons said.

-Nick Rahaim