Man Killed In Highway 37 Crash ID'd

NOVATO, CA – The Marin County coroner's office has identified the man who was killed in a four-vehicle crash on state Highway 37 in Novato Thursday afternoon as Arthur Lloyd Deleray, 81, of Sonoma.

Deleray was a passenger in a Lexus sedan that was stopped at the rear of a line of traffic in the fast lane of eastbound Highway 37 between the Atherton Avenue off-ramp and on-ramp around 3 p.m., California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Barclay said.

The driver of a Ford F-150 pickup saw the stopped traffic and tried to brake to avoid a collision but struck the right rear of the Lexus, Barclay said.

The collision forced the Lexus into the rear of the two vehicles ahead of it causing all the vehicles to come to rest blocking all lanes of the highway, Barclay said.

Despite efforts by paramedics, Deleray died of his injuries. The Lexus driver suffered major injuries and was taken by a CHP helicopter to a local trauma center, Barclay said.

A right front passenger in the third involved vehicle suffered minor injuries, the drivers of the third and fourth vehicles were not taken to a hospital, and the driver of the Ford F-150 truck was treated by
paramedics but was not taken to a hospital, Barclay said.

The collisions closed Highway 37 until 5:20 p.m. Traffic was diverted to the Atherton Avenue off-ramp and onto the on-ramp, bypassing the collision scene, Barclay said.

The collisions also caused backups back to the Highway 37 and U.S. Highway 101 interchange.

By Bay City News / Image via Shutterstock