A 19-year-old driver was arrested for being under the influence of drugs in a head-on crash in Cotati.
DUI crash: A 19-year-old was arrested early Tuesday for driving under the influence of drugs after a head-on collision that critically injured the other driver on Stony Point Road in Cotati.
• A teen driver who appeared to be high on drugs veered across a double yellow line and into oncoming traffic on a rural road.
• His pickup truck crashed head-on into an SUV. Both drivers were trapped in their vehicles.
• The driver of the SUV suffered critical injuries and was airlifted to Stanford Hospital.
• The teen driver was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs and then taken to a local hospital to be treated for injuries he sustained in the accident.
The car accident occurred at about 8:30 a.m. in heavy fog, according to a report in the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat.
California Highway Patrol Officer Jonathan Sloat said 19-year-old Ben Rhoades of Sebastopol was driving a Ford F250 pickup truck south on Stony Point Road when he veered across the double yellow line into the northbound lane just south of West Sierra Avenue.
Rhoades’ truck slammed head-on into an oncoming Ford Escape driven by 46-year-old Vicki Siefer of Novato, Sloat told the Healdsberg Patch news site.
There were conflicting news reports about which of the vehicles rolled over, but both drivers were trapped inside their vehicles and had to be extricated by firefighters.
Battalion Chief Steve Davidson told the Press-Democrat that getting her out of her car took about 45 minutes and was one of the most complicated extrications Rancho Adobe firefighters have ever handled.
“Part of the upper half of her body was outside of the wrecked vehicle but her legs were trapped inside,” the Press-Democrat reported. “Firefighters had to cut parts of the car away to get her legs untangled from the wreckage.”
Siefer suffered major injuries, which were considered to be life-threatening. She was airlifted via helicopter to Stanford Medical Center in critical condition, Sloat said.
Rhoades appeared to be intoxicated, officers said. He was arrested and taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital to be treated for injuries he sustained in the accident. He was listed in fair condition.
Officials closed Stony Point Road for about 90 minutes.
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