Volvo Crashes Into Downtown Gas Line: Update

Shortly after 5 p.m. on Friday afternoon, the driver of a Volvo V50 lost control and crashed into the side of a building, breaking a natural gas line and causing the temporary evacuation of the Center Street business district near the Healdsburg Police Station, witnesses and the police said.

"It was a beautiful day, the doors were open - all of a sudden I look up and there's a car coming right at me!" said Eric Hall, owner of Roadhouse Winery at 240 Center St., the scene of the accident.

"The thing that probably saved us was that concrete wall," he added. Roadhouse occupies the southern end of the former Healdsburg jail, between the present-day Police Station and Oakville Grocery on the corner of Matheson.

The car came to rest between a tree and the building, its front end snapping open a gas line at the meter. "Gas was pouring everywhere," said Sean McMahan of Roadhouse. "It was really terrifying."

"It was really blowing a lot of gas," confirmed Brian Munson of the Healdsburg Fire Department. "This whole half of the block had to be evacuated."

"I was sitting at my desk and I heard breaking glass and a crash," said Lara Apodaca, owner of Finely Lara's across the street. "I ran outside and then heard the gas line blow." Apadoca took a photograph and emailed it to Patch (see gallery).

"It was a huge hiss," she added. "It really did sound like it was pouring out."

The call to the fire department came at 5:11, but it took the crew several minutes to arrive and a bit longer to shut off the gas. Munson "broke a wrench" trying to turn off the flow, he said.

The driver, a 61-year old male who was not identified at press time and refused to talk to press, was said to be a frequent visitor to the area, delivering something to Spa Dolce  at the same address, said McMahan. Several large boxes and Fed Ex envelopes were removed from the vehicle at the scene before it was towed, about 6:30 p.m.

Police said the driver was trying to back out of an angle parking spot in front of the building, but the car was in Drive and he may have been pushing down on the throttle instead of, or as well as, the brake pedal.

After the accident several local business people helped direct traffic. "Everybody rallied," said McMahan.

Once the gas was shut off, sometime around 5:20 p.m., people were allowed back in their businesses for the rest of the evening, and the tension slowly dissipated along with the smell of the gas.

The Police Department issued a press release at 7:29, but it was scant on details as it was "based, in part, on hearsay and is intended for early informational use rather than being a formal investigative report...

"The cause of the automobile accident remains under investigation. No injuries were reported as a result of the incident."