Fatal crash on Lakeville Highway

One man was killed and three people injured, including two children, in a freak accident Friday night outside Petaluma when a large brick pizza oven towed by a catering van broke loose and careened into their car.

The silver Honda Accord, which contained two adults and two children, had been waiting to turn onto Lakeville Highway from Old Lakeville Road No. 3 about 7:30 p.m. when it was struck by the trailer carrying the pizza oven, CHP Officer Andrew Barclay said.

'The trailer became dislodged from the van and we don't know yet why,' Barclay said.

The impact crushed the side of the Honda and flipped the vehicle onto its side.

Passing motorists immediately stopped to help, including a busload of firefighters returning from a wildfire, said Rebecca Aronoff of Petaluma, who arrived shortly after the crash. An off-duty emergency medical technician guided efforts to stabilize one of the injured children who was pulled from the wreckage by passers-by, she said.

'Everyone here was doing everything they could to help,' Aronoff said.

The driver of the Honda, a male adult, died at the scene, Barclay said. A woman and a small boy, who were riding in the Honda, were taken by ambulance to a local hospital. The woman suffered 'moderate to major injuries,' Barclay said, while the boy suffered minor injuries. A young girl, also in the Honda, was airlifted to Children's Hospital in Oakland with 'moderate to major injuries,' Barclay said.

The CHP would not release the names of the people in the Honda or their relationship.

The driver of the Chevy 3500 van was not injured. Alcohol is not believed to have been a factor in the accident, Barclay said.

The accident is the second deadly crash on Lakeville Highway in nine weeks.

On June 7, a Vallejo woman was killed in a head-on crash with a suspected drunken driver on Lakeville Highway, near the scene of Friday's accident. Betty Osotonu, 65, of Vallejo was killed while driving an 8-year-old relative home from a dance performance at their church.

Staff Photographer Beth Schlanker contributed to this story.