Sonoma Crash Injures Five

Two children and three adults were injured in a multi-vehicle collision on state Highway 37 near the Sonoma Raceway this afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol.

A 2-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy were transported by helicopter with serious injuries from the crash, which occurred around 3:40 p.m. between Lakeville Highway and state Highway 121, CHP officials said.

Two drivers and a passenger from other vehicles involved in the crash were also transported by ground ambulance with various injuries.

The crash occurred when an eastbound 2010 Toyota Yaris driven by 53-year-old Los Gatos resident Erinn Richards struck an eastbound 2004 Nissan Sentra that had stopped in traffic.

The Nissan, driven by 23-year-old Vallejo resident Alejandro Rangel, had come to a stop behind an eastbound 2013 Toyota Camry, driven by 66-year-old Sandra Arendell of Grass Valley, that was stuck in heavy traffic.

When the Yaris struck the Sentra, the Sentra in turn was pushed into the Camry in a chain reaction, the CHP said.

The collision was forceful enough to cause the Camry to spin around and come to rest blocking both lanes of traffic.

Richard and Rangel were among those transported with injuries by ground ambulance.

Traffic was able to flow past the scene of the crash using the wide center divider section, according to the CHP. The scene was cleared around 5 p.m.

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