A 14-year-old girl was struck by a car and seriously injured as she and a companion attempted to cross West Steele Lane near Northcoast Street on Thursday evening.
Santa Rosa police said the girl was walking with a 16-year-old boy on the north side of West Steele Lane when they attempted to cross the street in the middle of the block between Northcoast Street and Apple Valley Lane. They were not in a crosswalk, according to Sgt. Doug Schlief, who investigated similar accidents in recent weeks.
The accident was one of a recent spate of vehicle versus pedestrian incidents in Santa Rosa in which teens have been injured or killed while crossing streets between 6 and 7 p.m.
The accident Thursday also occurred about the same time, about 6:30 p.m., when a Ford Taurus driven by Catherine Bickel, 49, of Santa Rosa, was heading east on West Steele Lane. Police said the boy was not hit by Bickel's car.
The girl, whose identity was not immediately released by police, was listed in serious condition at Memorial Hospital. Schlief said that alcohol or unsafe speed did not appear to be a factor in the accident, which remains under investigation.
- Bleys W. Rose
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