Investigation continues into fatal downtown Santa Rosa crash (w/video)

The dynamics of why two vehicles collided, sending an SUV crashing onto a 73-year-old Santa Rosa woman standing on a sidewalk, remained under investigation Wednesday as police asked witnesses to the downtown crash to come forward.

Santa Rosa police were still reviewing video surveillance tapes and analyzing details of the Tuesday afternoon crash in front of Luther Burbank Savings on Third Street near Old Courthouse Square.

The woman’s name was still being withheld Wednesday as Sonoma County coroner’s investigators attempted to find her family.

On Wednesday afternoon, bunches of roses, a teddy bear and other flowers lay on the sidewalk at the corner of Third and B streets. Shards of glass glittered in the late afternoon sunlight.

Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Mike Numainville said his team still had much to do to better understand what happened.

The 2:30 p.m. crash occurred in front of Luther Burbank Savings, about one block west of Old Courthouse Square, as two vehicles entered the intersection of Third and B streets and collided. The impact forced a Ford Explorer to flip onto its roof and land on a sidewalk where the woman had been standing, pinning her underneath.

Officers Wednesday were collecting video from nearby businesses, hoping to see how the crash occurred and determine the woman’s position on the sidewalk, including whether she’d come from the bank or was waiting to cross the street, Numainville said.

A handcart with plastic bags tied to it was found near her body. The cart belonged to the woman, the sergeant said.

Santa Rosa firefighters quickly raised the SUV off the woman with pneumatic inflatable devices. She had apparently died on impact.

The two drivers were treated for minor injuries.

Daniel Borbely, 72, had been driving east on Third Street in the Explorer as David Nelson, 94, was headed west on Third Street, making a left turn onto B Street in a Volvo wagon.

Officers still were determining who was driving without the right-of-way, ?Numainville said.

Both drivers had valid licenses and neither appeared to be impaired, he said.

Numainville said there were a handful of witnesses, and officers were hoping more would come forward.

In the moments afterward, numerous people took action. Santa Rosa city electricians who’d been working nearby began directing traffic, and employees from Luther Burbank Savings helped pull Borbely out of his upside-down SUV.

“They really jumped in and stepped up,” Numainville said.

Staff at Luther Burbank Savings on Wednesday said they were not permitted to comment on the incident.

Numainville asked anyone who witnessed the crash to contact investigators at 543-3636.

Staff Writer Julie Johnson contributed to this report.