Pickup hits City Hall

You can’t fight city hall. Even with a pickup truck.

Sonoma resident J. Wylie Hartman, was uninjured Monday afternoon after the truck he was driving smashed into one of the archway pillars at City Hall.

The former member of the Sonoma Planning Commission said he was pulling up to the building to pay a parking ticket when his truck jolted forward. His foot was not on the gas pedal, he said.

“It felt like an earthquake,” said City Clerk Gay Rainsbarger, who was on the second floor at the time of the impact.

The collision was severe enough to deploy the airbag and cause major damage to the front of the truck. After an on-site examination, Hartman was cleared to leave by Fire & Rescue personnel.

The thick stone pillar showed the signs of impact, but there was no immediate concern about structural damage to it or the building. Rainsbarger said the building would be checked out by an engineer.