Seven people, including five children, injured in Highway 101 rollover crash

Seven people, including five children, were injured in a collision Thursday morning between a truck and an SUV on a north Santa Rosa on-ramp to Highway 101.

CHP received reports of a two-car crash about 9:45 a.m. on the River Road on-ramp to the highway. It occurred when a Goodwill box truck moved left into the middle lane to make room for another vehicle entering the on-ramp, said CHP spokesman Officer David deRutte.

A Ford Expedition was traveling in the middle lane and attempted to avoid the truck by moving to the left, but ultimately lost control and collided with truck.

Both vehicles ran off the road on the west shoulder. The Expedition overturned, deRutte said, injuring the driver and five children inside.

The driver, Sandra Garcia Flores, 30, of Windsor, was taken to Sutter Hospital for her injuries. A 10-year-old girl sustained serious injuries and was helicoptered to Oakland Children’s Hospital, deRutte said. Two other children were flown to UC Davis Medical Center, and the remaining two children were taken to local hospitals. deRutte didn’t know the extent of the injuries or how all of the children were related. Some are Garcia Flores’ children, deRutte said.

The driver of the truck, Michael Engel, 20, of Santa Rosa, suffered minor injuries and was transported to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center.

CHP doesn’t believe that anyone was driving under the influence at the time, deRutte said. No one was arrested.