CHP Identifies 3 of 4 Drivers Involved in Fatal Highway 12 Crash Monday

By Bay City News Service

The California Highway Patrol has released the names of three of the drivers involved in a fatal four-vehicle crash on state Highway 12 in Napa County on Monday morning.

The person who died was a man in his 50s who was driving a 1997 Ford Escort. His name is being withheld pending notification of his next of kin, Napa County sheriff's Capt. Tracey Stuart said this morning.

The 10:35 a.m. crash just west of the Solano County line closed the highway for eight hours and sent eight people to hospitals, CHP officials said.

The accident happened when the Ford, which was traveling west at the 55 mph speed limit, crossed over the double-yellow line and drove into the path of an eastbound Cal Fire 2000 Mack tractor-trailer that was hauling a bulldozer, CHP Officer Jaret Paulson said.

The driver of the big-rig, Vincent Zediker, 41, of Montague, Calif., was not injured.The head-on crash pushed the Ford back into a westbound 2000 Toyota Sienna driven by Charlie Cha, 49, of Sacramento, that was traveling behind the Ford, Paulson said.

Cha and his six passengers suffered minor to moderate injuries.The big-rig then struck the guardrail on the opposite side of the road before hitting a westbound 2005 Toyota Prius, Paulson said.

The driver of the Prius, Muriel Rollins, 58, of Pinole, suffered moderate injuries. The Ford's driver died at the scene, Paulson said.

Cal Fire Division Chief David Shew said the bulldozer was being hauled back to a Cal Fire site in Siskiyou County.

The bulldozer was in the Napa County as backup equipment as firefighters battled a and a 10- to 15-acre fire in eastern Napa County this weekend, Shew said. Paulson said it is unknown if alcohol was a factor in the crash.

The accident happened in a no-passing area of the two-lane  highway, Paulson said.