Wrong-Way Driver On U.S. Hwy 101 Results In Fiery, Fatal Crash

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A person was killed in a fiery collision involving a wrong-way driver Thursday night on U.S. Highway 101 near Geyserville, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP started receiving reports at 9:44 p.m. of a wrong-way driver traveling southbound in the northbound lanes, near Dutcher Creek Road. Within minutes of the initial call, a witness reported the wrong-way driver had caused a head-on collision, CHP Officer David deRutte said.

Emergency personnel found two vehicles with major damage. A Sonoma County sheriff's deputy reported two people were trapped in their cars.

The driver of a GMC Yukon —a 45-year-old Cloverdale man—suffered major but non-life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, deRutte said.

The wrong-way driver, a Cloverdale man in a Nissan Sentra, was pronounced dead at the scene, deRutte told Patch.

CHP's preliminary investigation confirmed the Sentra driver was traveling southbound in the wrong direction on northbound US-101. The Yukon driver was traveling northbound on US-101, north of Canyon Road as the Sentra crashed head-on into the Yukon.

Both cars caught fire. The flames were quickly extinguished by fire personnel.

The driver of the Yukon was trapped in the wreckage and was freed by firefighters.

The identity of the Sentra driver was expected to be released by the Sonoma County Sheriff-Coroner's office once his family members were properly notified.

A sig alert was issued at 10:21 p.m. Thursday with both southbound lanes blocked. The roadway was reopened at 12:11 a.m. Friday following the fatal crash.

The incident remained under investigation Friday. The CHP asked anyone with information regarding the crash to contact the Santa Rosa CHP Office at 707-588-1400.

Editor's Note: This article was updated Friday afternoon with more complete information from the California Highway Patrol.