Lake County man dead in 3-car Highway 101 crash in Cloverdale

A 44-year-old Lake County man was killed in a collision heading north on Highway 101 in Cloverdale on Wednesday morning, the CHP said.

The crash occurred around 5:20 a.m. just north of the Highway 128 offramp, said CHP officer David deRutte. It blocked both northbound lanes of the freeway for hours until emergency personnel cleared the wreckage about 10 a.m.

The man who died lost control of his silver Kia Forte and hit a guardrail, flipping the vehicle, deRutte said. The car, which was carrying two male passengers, landed on its wheels but ended up facing northbound traffic.

A Kia Optima then sideswiped the Forte before pulling over to the shoulder.

Moments later, the CHP believes a Chrysler 200 slammed head-on into the Forte as the three men were getting out of the car, deRutte said. The force of the impact ejected the driver to the pavement, where he was later pronounced dead.

The name of the man who was killed, a resident of Upper Lake, was not released.

Both passengers were taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. One was treated for moderate injuries and the other for major injuries that the CHP said were not life-threatening.

Neither of the two other drivers involved in the accident was seriously injured.

The CHP is still investigating whether alcohol played any role in the crash, deRutte said.

You can reach Staff Writer Ethan Varian at ethan.varian@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5412. On Twitter @ethanvarian