Crash Shuts Southbound 101 Near Atherton Avenue Exit

There were no life-threatening injuries but a lot of frayed nerves and alarmed onlookers Thursday afternoon when a three-car crash closed southbound Highway 101 near the San Marin Drive/Atherton Avenue exit, authorities said.

The crash, first reported at 3:47 p.m., was a chain-reaction wreck that sent one driver, an unidentified man, to a hospital with pain in his back, California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Rardin said.

Rardin said a Nissan slowed down in the rainy weather and was rear-ended by a Toyota. A Honda then rear-ended the Toyota, which caught fire.

Several vehicle occupants were evaluated and one person, the Nissan driver, was taken to with what Deputy Chief Eric Nickel said were non-life-threatening injuries.

A bus from River Rock Casino in Geyserville had stopped on the shoulder of the highway prior to the collision because of brake problems, said Novato Fire Battalion Chief Mark Heine. The bus driver was unloading 30 riders while the brakes burned, and another driver slowed to look at the bus and was rear ended at a high rate of speed, he said.

All southbound lanes were closed just south of the onramp. The CHP issued a Sig-alert at about 4:10 p.m.

“They got the thing cleared really fast,” Nickel said.

At the time of the crash, Highway 101 was wet from a strong storm that blew through Novato at mid-day.

— Bay City News Service contributed to this report