Soggy and blustery conditions on Monday made for some early morning headaches for Bay Area commuters.
Before the peak of the morning commute, most of the reported crashes were concentrated in and around the Santa Cruz Mountains, according to the California Highway Patrol.
One of the first wrecks was reported just before 2 a.m. after a car slammed into a telephone pole in the area of Soquel San Jose Road and Summit Road, according to the CHP. The driver suffered minor injuries.
About 45 minutes later, another vehicle overturned along southbound Highway 17 near the summit, according to the CHP. The driver, who was OK, said he hydroplaned right off of the roadway.
"Hit the Summit exit curve and hydroplaned about 30 feet after and ended up rolled over a street pole," Sergio Flores, who was driving back to school at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said.
Another car travelling along Highway 17 just before 3:45 a.m. crashed into a guard rail near Hebard Road, according to the CHP. No injures were reported, but the crash did block traffic for some time.
The CHP warns drivers that it only takes one-twelfth of an inch of rain on a roadway and a speed in excess of 35 mph to put drivers at a risk of hydroplaning. If drivers find themselves hydroplaning, they are instructed to ease off the accelerator and steer straight until they regain control.
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CHP officials are also reminding drivers to give other vehicles more space when rain is falling and to turn on headlights whenever their windshield wipers are on.
