Vallejo man identified as victim of Lakeville Highway crash

A 32-year-old Vallejo man has been identified as the victim of a freak accident on Lakeville Highway on Friday evening, when a large brick pizza oven towed by a catering van broke loose and slammed into his car.

Dwayne Usher was driving a Honda and waiting to turn onto the highway south of Petaluma when his car was struck by the trailer carrying the pizza oven.

The impact caused Usher’s Honda Accord to overturn, killing him and injuring three passengers.

On Saturday, the California Highway Patrol was investigating how the trailer became disconnected from the northbound Chevy 3500 van driven by Edward Jacobson, 46, of Petaluma.

“It had a standard ball hitch,” said CHP Sgt. Ross Ingels, who said safety chains also should have been in place.

“There were safety chains on the trailer. Whether they were used and had a failure, or whether they were not used at all, we’re still looking into,” he said.

The Honda’s front-seat passenger, 34-year-old Ariel Motta of Vallejo, was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with major injuries.

Usher’s two sons in the back seat also needed medical attention.

Devin Usher, 8, of Vacaville was airlifted to Oakland Children’s Hospital with moderate injuries.

Anthony Usher, 4, of Vallejo was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial with minor injuries.