CHP Officer Hurt in Crash on 101, Rain Suspected

An on-duty California Highway Patrol officer was hospitalized Friday night after a solo-crash in heavy rain on northbound U.S. Highway 101 just north of Petaluma, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said.

CHP Officer D. Gunter, who has been with the CHP for nearly three years, was driving north on the highway when he hit standing water and lost control near Petaluma Boulevard North, Sloat said.

Sloat said the time of the incident was not clear, but it appears to have been reported around 10 p.m.

The officer in his patrol car hit the guardrail and overturned into a field on the east side of the freeway, Sloat said. He was the only person in the vehicle.

The vehicle was severely damaged and the officer had to be extricated from the totaled car, Sloat said. He was pulled out with minor injuries and was taken to a hospital, Sloat said.

The cause of the accident is under investigation. Sloat said it was unknown what the officer's speed was at the time of the collision, which occurred at an area with recently completed construction that had led to some flooding in Friday night's rain.

By Bay City News Service