Police: Driver ran red light in fatal downtown Santa Rosa rollover crash

Nearly two months after a two-vehicle collision sent an SUV crashing onto a bystander standing on a downtown Santa Rosa sidewalk, killing the woman, police said they determined a 94-year-old driver ran a red light and was at fault in the crash.

David Nelson of Santa Rosa “had a red left-hand arrow” on Jan. 20 when he entered the intersection, causing the crash, and as a result he could face a charge of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence, Sgt. Ryan Corcoran said. If convicted, Nelson could face up to a year in jail, according to the state vehicle code.

Police on Monday gave their final report to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office after an investigation that involved comparing surveillance footage with stoplight-sequencing data kept by the city’s traffic engineers to determine which of the drivers had a red light, Corcoran said. Nelson’s age did not factor in their decision, he said.

The collision occurred at about 2:30 p.m. in front of the Luther Burbank Savings bank at Third and B streets near the busy Santa Rosa Plaza. The vehicles collided, and an SUV rolled onto Ruth Tapian, 73, of Santa Rosa, who was standing on the sidewalk. She was killed on impact, police said.

Nelson’s attorney, Chris Andrian, said that his client is saddened by Tapian’s death but does not believe he was at fault in the crash.

“He feels terrible about it; at the same time, he believes he turned on a green light,” Andrian said.

Andrian said that prosecutors will have to prove the precise timing of the stoplights if they decide to charge Nelson.

An attorney representing Tapian’s family said Tuesday that the Police Department’s findings match the conclusion of a private accident re-constructionist who reviewed the crash. Rohnert Park attorney Valerie McGuire said the Tapian family plans to file a wrongful death suit against Nelson.

“She was a dear old lady who was perfectly innocent who was killed in a gruesome manner,” McGuire said.

On the afternoon she was killed, Tapian was on her way to Wells Fargo Bank, apparently waiting at the corner for the light to change.

From westbound Third Street, Nelson was making a left-hand turn onto southbound B Street when his Volvo wagon collided with a Ford Explorer driven by Daniel Borbely, 72, of Santa Rosa, according to police. Borbely was heading east on Third Street and entered the intersection with a green light, Corcoran said.

Corcoran said police were not making a recommendation, either way, as to whether the District Attorney’s Office should charge Nelson with a crime and their report merely presents their findings.

“We’re not recommending whether or not the D.A. files” a complaint against Nelson, Corcoran said. “He ran a red light. Does him hitting a red light meet the level for prosecution?”

That’s for the prosecutor to decide, he said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Staebell said that he did not yet know how long it might take to review the police report. Staebell said that it doesn’t matter if the police recommend a charge or not, and that the prosecutor’s process of analysis remains the same.

“We have very pretty straightforward ethical guidelines to look at the facts and the evidence and to look if we can prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt - it has to be objective,” Staebell said.

Corcoran said that Nelson’s age did not factor into their findings because they found no indication it was relevant. Still, the Police Department will send a request to the Department of Motor Vehicles that Nelson be re-evaluated for driving competency, Corcoran said.

Andrian said Nelson is “very alert and physically able” and he hasn’t observed anything in the man’s behavior to indicate he isn’t fit to drive.

“I don’t think there’s anything in his record that he’s incapable of driving,” Andrian said. “And I hope people don’t jump to the conclusion that someone that old shouldn’t drive a car.”

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.