A fiery crash on North State Street that killed a still-unidentified man early Friday morning has now claimed the life of a Ukiah man, his family reported.
Kevin Cole, of Rohnert Park, said Wednesday that his brother, 52-year-old Peter Cole, suffered “massive head trauma” in a collision between a Toyota Camry and a Ford Explorer around 1:35 a.m. April 7 near the Thurston Auto Plaza on North State Street.
“He was taken off life support at 3 p.m. (Tuesday),” said Cole, adding that his brother and three others in the Explorer were driving home from a casino and were two blocks from Peter Cole’s home when the Camry struck their vehicle head-on just south of the auto plaza.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the Camry was northbound at a high-rate of speed when it veered into the path of the southbound Explorer, hitting it head-on before continuing into the parking lot of the auto plaza. There it hit a Jeep and Chrysler before bursting into flames, also burning both parked vehicles.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday it has been unable to confirm the identity of the Camry’s driver because the body was so badly burned that dental records will need to be used to identify the remains.
Cole said he was told that the vehicle was registered to a resident of Sacramento, but the CHP has not confirmed that information.
Cole said a 33-year-old Redwood Valley woman who was in the vehicle with his brother suffered extensive injuries to her spine and was still hospitalized. The other two occupants of the Ford, including the driver, suffered less severe injuries.
Cole said his brother was unfortunately not wearing his seat belt at the time of the collision, but that some of his organs had been donated.
“So some good came out of this,” he said, explaining that his brother’s kidneys and liver had been given to others.
The CHP has yet to provide further details about the collision, and the cause is still under investigation.
