A 69-year-old Petaluma man, described by loved ones as a father of four, was identified by authorities as the driver pronounced dead Friday morning, Jan. 23, following a collision just outside the city limits.

Michael McCallister was involved in a head-on collision reported about 5:50 a.m. Friday along Old Adobe Road near Frates Road, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. His exact cause of death, however, is still under investigation, California Highway Patrol Officer David deRutte said.

His office previously reported McCallister was heading east in a Honda CR-V when he crossed into the opposite lanes for unknown reasons. McCallister sideswiped a westbound Chevrolet Silverado before colliding head-on with a Toyota Camry, authorities said. McCallister was pronounced dead at the scene.

In a GoFundMe fundraiser for McCallister’s family, he’s described as a husband and grandfather who grew up in Mill Valley and graduated from Tamalpais High School in 1974. He had a grandchild, five siblings and had been “a friend to hundreds.”

“He was the kind of person people leaned on — because you always knew Mike would help, no questions asked,” the Go Fund Me account states.

McCallister married his wife in 1981 and they made Petaluma their home, according to the account. He’d been the family’s sole provider following his wife’s retirement from the social services and education fields and his passing left his wife in need of financial assistance.

“Funeral costs, ongoing living expenses, and the possibility of losing their home are now heavy burdens at a time when she and the family need to focus on healing and supporting one another,” the GoFundMe account states.

Reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com.