Morning Commute Tied Up by 5-Vehicle Crash

A five-vehicle crash during the Thursday morning commute sent one woman to a hospital with back pain and backed up traffic in Novato for more than a mile, the California Highway Patrol said.

Kathleen Wallace, 47, was in a 2005 BMW involved in the chain-reaction crash caused when traffic came to a sudden stop on southbound Highway 101 just south of the Ignacio Boulevard exit, according to CHP Officer Eric Hohmeister. Wallace was taken to by paramedics.

Wallace's car was sandwiched between cars driven by Valedemar Luergen of Novato, Maria Mezinis of Novato, William Bortel Jr. of Petaluma and Aldo Rendon of Rohnert Park, according to the CHP report.  Traffic was moving at about 20 mph at the time, Hohmeister said.

After the crash, first-responders moved all the vehicles to the right-hand shoulder to allow traffic to flow.