Deadly Crash Shuts Highway 12 In Napa County

NAPA COUNTY (CBS SF) - One person was killed and eight others were injured in a four-vehicle crash on state Highway 12 in Napa County near the Solano County line Monday morning, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.

The crash shut down Highway 12 between state Highway 29 and Interstate Highway 80 and had not opened as of the start of the evening commute, CHP Officer Jaret Paulson said.

Latest KCBS Traffic Conditions

The accident happened around 10:35 a.m. when a westbound Ford Escort drove into the path of an eastbound Cal Fire flatbed big-rig that was hauling a bulldozer, Paulson said.

The head-on crash pushed the Ford back into a westbound Nissan minivan that was traveling behind it, Paulson said. The flatbed truck then struck the guardrail on the opposite side of the road before hitting a westbound Toyota Prius, Paulson said.

The driver of the Ford, a man in his 50s, died at the scene, Paulson said. Seven people in the minivan and the driver of the Prius were hospitalized, Paulson said. The driver of the Cal Fire truck was not injured.

The CHP initially reported that the truck might have blown a tire before the collision but that does not appear to be the case, Paulson said.

The crash blocked both eastbound and westbound lanes.

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

The bulldozer was in Napa County as backup equipment as firefighters battled a 715-acre vegetation fire near Fairfield and a 10- to 15-acre fire in eastern Napa County this weekend, Shew said.

Paulson said it is too early to say whether alcohol was a factor in the crash. The vehicles were still at the scene as of 4 p.m., he said.

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

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)