Cindy White, a developmentally disabled woman and an advocate for the disabled, was in critical condition at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital following a hit-and-run accident early Monday in downtown Petaluma.
White, a 53-year-old grandmother, was under intensive care following surgery Monday and faces another operation today, said Leanne Ward, a community support facilitator who worked with White at Becoming Independent, a Santa Rosa agency that serves developmentally disabled adults.
White sustained broken bones in her lower left leg, broken ribs, lung damage, a punctured liver and a head injury, said Ward, who visited White on Tuesday.
Edward White has been with his wife at the hospital since Monday morning, Ward said. "He's really exhausted," she said.
Cindy White was heavily sedated and unable to talk on Tuesday, Ward said.
White, a client at Becoming Independent for 25 years, was named to the agency's board of directors last year and is vice chairwoman of the Consumer Advisory Committee, which advises the state Department of Developmental Services.
About two years ago, White landed a state job as an office clerk at Sonoma Developmental Center in Eldridge, home to about 680 disabled people.
"It's a great gift," she said in an interview in December 2008. The job paid about $2,000 a month, nearly three times what White had received in Supplemental Security Income payments.
"She is a super success story for people with disabilities," said Cami Weaver, CEO at Becoming Independent.
White, one of the first participants in an agency program for disabled parents, has become a "strong role model" for other women, Weaver said.
Police have no new leads in the case and have not located the truck that struck White in a crosswalk on Petaluma Boulevard at D Street about 6:15 a.m. Monday.
Both White and the driver had green lights, but the truck did not yield as it turned right from D Street onto the boulevard, police said.
The truck, which ran over White and kept going, was described as an older model Ford pickup, white with a two-tone burgundy stripe and a chrome bumper. Anyone with information on the collision is asked to call Petaluma Officer Bert Walker at 778-4455.
White was on her way to work in a clothing shop at the development center, a 65-minute commute that requires two bus rides.
"It's a really vulnerable population, our folks," Ward said.
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