Sheriff's Officer Injured In Crash

The California Highway Patrol is investigating a crash that injured a Marin County sheriff's deputy and another driver on Sunday afternoon.

Christine Walwyn, 62, of Moraga, was driving a 2007 Honda Civic east on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard just east of Nicasio Valley Road, in unincorporated Marin County, when the crash happened around 4:20 p.m., CHP Officer Eric Hohmeister said.

The Honda crossed over the broken yellow line, went into the road's westbound lane and struck a 2009 Ford Crown Victoria patrol car driven by sheriff's Deputy Michael Dawson, Hohmeister said.

The left front side of the Honda struck the left front end of the deputy's car and scraped along the left side of the Ford, Hohmeister said.

The collision pushed the patrol car off the road into a drainage ditch, where it struck a tree and came to rest, trapping Dawson inside, Hohmeister said.

The Honda continued across the westbound lane of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and came to a stop on the north shoulder, Hohmeister said.

Marin County Fire Department personnel removed the top of the patrol car to extract Dawson, who complained of pain in his left side and back and had suffered cuts to his left arm and a possible loss of consciousness, Hohmeister said. Dawson was taken to Marin General Hospital.

Walwyn said she had back and leg pain, and also was taken to Marin General Hospital, Hohmeister said.

The accident closed both lanes of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard for an hour, and the westbound lane remained closed for an additional half-hour while the vehicles were removed, Hohmeister said.

The crash remains under investigation, but intoxication is not believed to have been a factor, Hohmeister said.