CHP: Driver fell asleep in Highway 101 debris truck rollover in Petaluma

A big rig overturned early Saturday morning on Highway 101 in Petaluma, triggering a traffic mess that plagued the corridor for hours - resulting in a temporary closure of the highway, three separate three-car crashes and six hospital transports, the CHP said.

It all started at ?4:30 a.m. when an empty fire debris removal truck traveling northbound on Highway 101 rolled over just south of the Petaluma Boulevard North on-ramp, likely because of driver fatigue, said CHP Sgt. Josh Kolstad.

“We think he fell asleep,” Kolstad said.

The driver was uninjured, but the jackknifed big rig blocked two of the three lanes, forcing Caltrans to close down the highway while tow trucks worked to right it, Kolstad said.

“The crashes occurred because people were doing probably 50-60 miles per hour, and they would come up on stopped traffic and then slam on their brakes and run into each other,” Kolstad said.

That happened for the first time at 7:15 a.m., when a driver suspected of being under the influence crashed into two other cars about a mile south of the big rig, Kolstad said.

Three people were transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for minor injuries.

Two minutes later, another three-car collision happened about 0.25 miles south of there, Kolstad said, sending one more person to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

At 7:45 a.m, a third three-car crash happened in the same area, with one person being sent to Petaluma Valley Hospital for minor injuries, Kolstad said.

“It was pretty foggy down there,” he said.

All northbound lanes were reopened at ?8:30 a.m.

The CHP had no further details Saturday on who owned the big rig or where it was headed.

You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 707-521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SeaWarren.