UPDATED: Jamieson Canyon/Hwy 12 Expected To Be Closed Into Evening Commute

Officials with the say Highway 12, also known as Jamieson Canyon Road, is expected to remain closed into the Monday-evening commute following this morning's fatal crash involving a loaded big-rig and three passenger vehicles. 

The closure leaves commuters on both sides of the county line with limited options.

The CHP is advising motorists to use American Canyon Road to travel between Interstate 80 and Highway 29.

The winding, narrow roads through Wooden Valley and Highway 121 over Mount George are also likely to see heavier use this afternoon and evening.

For details on the accident, see .

UPDATE 5:47 p.m.:

By Bay City News Service

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 this morning, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.

The crash shut down Highway 12 between state Highway 29 and
Interstate Highway 80, and the road was expected to remain closed until at least 6 p.m., CHP Officer Jaret Paulson said.

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.