Crash with major injuries, fallen power lines closes Forestville highway

A woman driving on Highway 116 in Forestville early Tuesday was seriously injured after crashing into a power pole and trees, bringing live lines down onto the highway and closing it for several hours.

The 8:20 a.m. crash happened between Martinelli and Green Valley roads. The impact sheered off the pole, which also fell onto the highway and caused a PG&E transformer to leak.

The impact knocked out power to 381 customers in the Forestville area. Power was restored to all customers about 5:30 p.m., a PG&E spokesman said.

The highway remained closed early Tuesday night.

The fallen live lines were about 20 to 30 feet from the vehicle. Firefighters found the Toyota 4runner tilted into the trees and had to cut down at least one to reach the woman, pinned in her driver’s seat by the crushed front end. Her extrication took 25 minutes, including firefighters removing doors and prying the crumpled metal away from her body.

She was taken by ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Her name wasn’t available from the CHP.

-Randi Rossmann, Guy Kovner