Teen driver arrested in Santa Rosa hit-and-run crash of skateboarder

An anonymous handwritten letter helped police link a 16-year-old driver to a hit-and-run collision that badly injured a skateboarder earlier this month, Santa Rosa police officials said.

Police on Monday arrested the teen driver on suspicion of felony hit-and-run, leaving him in the custody of his family until his first court appearance, Sgt. Ryan Corcoran said.

The teen, a Maria Carrillo High School student whose name was not released, had apparently told his mother that he hit a deer when he came home Aug. 6 with damage to his sedan, Corcoran said.

A note sent to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where the skateboarder is recovering, made its way to the victim’s mother and then to police, leading officers to make an initial visit to the teen’s home last week.

Sometime before officers arrived at her home Aug. 10, the teen’s mother - who had read news reports of the crash - left a voice mail message for police indicating she was concerned her son may have been the driver, the sergeant said.

The boy’s family allowed officers to tow the dark tan 2012 Honda Civic, which had damage “consistent with hitting something that went over the hood,” Corcoran said.

Detectives contacted animal control and public works staff to rule out the possibility that the teen had hit a deer.

Police returned to the home Monday with a search warrant to collect other evidence in the case and place the teen under arrest.

The teen was driving south on St. Francis Road in east Santa Rosa at about 1 a.m. Aug. 6 when the skateboarder rode into his path at El Encanto Drive, according to police.

David Crowhurst, 20, of Gulf Breeze, Fla., had been skateboarding down the broad descending driveway of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church on ?St. Francis Road with some of his siblings, who had reunited in Santa Rosa at a gathering of family members who lived on opposite coasts, said one of his brothers, Joshua Crowhurst of Santa Rosa.

Crowhurst was hit and thrown over the car, suffering severe injuries to his upper body including fractures and brain swelling, according to his family.

The dark-colored sedan drove away. Crowhurst was rushed to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

With little information about the car apart from a vague description, police asked the public to call with any information that might help detectives locate the driver.

Hospital staff received the anonymous letter and gave it to Crowhurst’s mother, who in turn gave it to police Aug. 10, which prompted officers to visit the teen’s home later that day, according to Corcoran. The writer suggested police should examine a neighbor’s vehicle at a particular address, he said.

“It’s nice to know people are paying attention and noticing things that are out of the ordinary,” Corcoran said. “Without the assistance of the public, we wouldn’t have been able to solve it.”

Police said the driver is suspected of committing a felony by leaving the scene of a crash that resulted in serious injuries. Corcoran said that Crowhurst appeared to be at fault in the crash by skateboarding through a stop sign at the end of the church driveway.

On Monday, hospital staff said Crowhurst was in stable condition.

Crowhurst had shown signs of improvement but still faced “many hurdles to come” with his recovery, his brother said.

Joshua Crowhurst said in an email that he and his family’s “hearts go out to the family of the driver ... It’s gonna be a tough period for them.”

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