Sisters should survive injuries

Two Santa Rosa girls struck by a pickup while standing at a bus stop were recovering at hospitals Sunday and are expected to survive, according to their family.

Thirteen-year-old Cruz Yesenia, the most seriously injured of the pair, is being treated by doctors at Children's Hospital of Oakland to relieve swelling on her brain.

Doctors told her family that Yesenia is in stable condition but that she may require hospitalization for another month.

Yesenia, her 16-year-old sister, Deysi Emelia, and the girls' father were waiting at a bus stop on Yulupa Avenue Saturday morning when a pickup driven by a suspected drunken driver careened out-of-control, struck at least one other vehicle and hurtled in the direction of the girls.

Police arrested Michael Robert Tweedie, 35, on suspicion of hit and run causing serious injury and driving under the influence.

"All I know is that we have all been praying for the girl and for this whole situation," Dick Tweedie of Santa Rosa, Michael Tweedie's father, said Sunday. "It's just a horrible tragedy. I guess that's all I can say at this point."

Family members of the sisters are dividing their time between the Oakland hospital and Santa Rosa Memorial, where Emelia is recovering from injuries that include a broken shoulder, broken rib and a broken finger.

The Montgomery High student told her family from her hospital bed that she tried to push her sister out of the way but didn't have time before they were struck.

"The truck didn't give her time to do anything," said Arnulfo Pineda, the girls' 19-year-old brother.

Asefredo Pineda and his daughters had been waiting to catch a bus en route to visit a sick relative who lives in Apple Valley.

"Nobody slept last night waiting for the news," Arnulfo Pineda said. "We were sleepy, but I don't think that really matters."

The truck that Tweedie is suspected of driving hit at least one other vehicle and flipped several times before landing near the bus stop.

After the 9:30 a.m. crash, witnesses described seeing a man who fit Tweedie's description running from the scene. He was arrested at about 1:15 p.m. at an apartment complex on Mission Boulevard just north of Highway 12.

Dick Tweedie said on Sunday that he had not yet spoken with his son, who was booked into Sonoma County Jail, where his bail was set at $30,000. He is scheduled to be arraigned in court on Tuesday.

One neighbor of Tweedie's parents said the son has long struggled with drug problems and has been in and out of treatment several times, including a stint in a locked facility. The neighbor, who asked that his name not be used, said Mike Tweedie was often unemployed but most recently sold solar panels for homes. His pickup was a familiar sight on the cul-de-sac near Annadel State Park.

Neighbors were "terrified that he would hit somebody" in the truck, the man said. "There are no sidewalks on the street. His driving was totally reckless. He'd get in fights with his family and work it out by racing down the street and disappear."

 The neighbor said he "felt sorry"" for the parents. "I think they were doing everything they could. He was out of control."

You can reach Staff Writer Derek J. Moore at 521-5336 or derek.moore@

pressdemocrat.com.