Coroner Identifies Man Killed In 12-Vehicle North Bay Crash

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — The Sonoma County Sheriff-Coroner's Office identified a man who died in a recent 12-vehicle crash on state Highway 12 in Santa Rosa.

Charles Patrick La Fortune, 78, of Sebastopol, died Thursday, Aug. 29, when his Toyota Tacoma pickup truck was struck by a dump truck that caught fire.

The California Highway Patrol and Santa Rosa Fire Department were among emergency personnel dispatched at 11:52 a.m. Aug. 29 to the collision on westbound Highway 12 at Fulton Road. The CHP determined a dump truck rear-ended westbound traffic stopped at the Fulton Road intersection.

CHP Officer David deRutte said La Fortune was alone in the pickup truck, which was the first vehicle hit by the dump truck.

"The Toyota became engulfed in flames after the crash," deRutte said. "The dump truck pushed the Toyota into multiple vehicles causing major damage to most of the vehicles. Eight people from all the vehicles were transported to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries."

What caused the dump truck to drive into the stopped traffic was still being investigated, the CHP said.

Vehicles stopped between the crash —just east of Fulton Road—and Stony Point Road were turned around or moved off the freeway through a break in the fence created by the fire department.

Firefighters remained on the scene for several hours, helping the CHP with scene documentation and other tasks.

Sheriff's Spokesperson Rob Dillion told Patch that officially identifying La Fortune took more time than usual because of the nature of the incident and the severity of his injuries.

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