GARBERVILLE ? An errant driver caused a pileup with few injuries Tuesday morning in the northbound lane of Highway 101 north of Oilwell Hill in Mendocino County.
Ukiah resident Michael Maynard stopped his CAL-FIRE truck behind other traffic because of a brush cutting operation ahead of him on the highway shoulder, according to a press release from the Garberville Area California Highway Patrol (CHP). Behind him was Cloverdale resident Benjamin Suarez in a 1992 Toyota truck. Santa Rosa resident Kenneth Pritchard was behind Suarez”s Toyota in a United Parcel Service (UPS) delivery van.
Fortuna resident Richard Swan Lund was approaching from behind in a 1994 Peterbilt tractor-trailer combination and failed to stop in time to avoid a crash, according to the CHP release.
Suarez anticipated the crash and pulled his Toyota to the shoulder between Maynard”s CAL-FIRE truck and the guardrail. The tractor-trailer struck the UPS van from behind, pushing it into the back of the CAL FIRE truck. The UPS van rolled into the Suarez”s Toyota and pushed it into the guardrail.
Prichard was flown by CALSTAR helicopter to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with minor injuries, and a co-worker drove Maynard to Frank Howard Memorial Hospital with minor injuries, according to the CHP. No other injuries were reported.
