Petaluma: Cars vs. people

Petaluma police are paying closer attention to motorists after an alarming number of pedestrians have been hit by vehicles in the past month.

Eight pedestrians and two bicyclists have been struck in six incidents since Aug. 27, according to police records — including two incidents in one day.

In each case the pedestrians were in paint-striped or flashing-light crosswalks. And all were following the law. The bicyclists were in violation by riding instead of walking their bikes through the crosswalks.

Police Sgt. Ken Savano said the rash of accidents is unexplainable.

"If there's one common thread through all of them, it's inattention," he said.

That would include inattention on the drivers' part, the pedestrians' part and the bicyclists' part, he said.

On Thursday, officers conducted a "pedestrian crosswalk enforcement operation" that resulted in 16 citations around the city: two speeding tickets, nine cell-phone violations and five failures to yield.

The operation included a technique police have employed previously: using an officer in civilian clothing to walk in marked crosswalks where there have been a history of vehicle/pedestrian accidents. The procedure resulted in the failure-to-yield violations.

Police will continue to conduct traffic stings and other operations to slow drivers down and try to prevent collisions.

Speeding continues to be the top cause of all types of accidents in Petaluma, Savano said. As of late last month, police had issued 1,997 speeding citations compared to 1,757 by the same time last year.

Several pedestrians in the recent accidents have been hospitalized, but no fatalities were involved.

The most seriously injured appears to be an elderly woman who was struck while walking in a marked crosswalk at B at 6th streets in west Petaluma on Sept. 10. The driver of the vehicle, also elderly, told police he never saw the woman until he struck her.

The victim, whose name was not released, remains hospitalized, police said Friday.

Despite the recent rash of crosswalk accidents, the overall rate of such injury collisions appears to be stable.

In 2007, there were 26 vehicle-versus-pedestrian crashes. In both 2008 and 2009, there were 27.

So far this year, there have been 19. Police have cited 66 motorists for pedestrian right-of-way violations, compared with 103 for all of 2009.

Since 2007, three pedestrians have been killed and nearly 90 others injured.

The recent string of crosswalk accidents includes:

Aug. 27 — While police were focusing on speeders in front of Casa Grande High School in the morning, a car struck a 17-year-old student in a crosswalk at Crinella Drive.

Sept. 3 — a 23-year-old male cyclist was riding across North McDowell Boulevard at Sunrise Parkway in the marked and enhanced crosswalk when he was struck.

Savano said in both bike incidents, the rider was violating the law. A person riding a bicycle is considered a vehicle and must follow the same traffic laws as motorists. A person walking a bike becomes a pedestrian and is granted the same right-of-way as a person walking.

Sept. 8 — Two Casa Grande students suffered broken legs after school when a 16-year-old teen driver struck them as their cross-country team was crossing in a lighted crosswalk at Sonoma Mountain Parkway and Monroe Street. The driver was ticketed for failing to yield to pedestrians.

Drivers are required to stop at marked or unmarked crosswalks and yield to pedestrians. If a vehicle has stopped at crosswalk, drivers are required to stop and not pass the stopped vehicle, even if they cannot see any pedestrians.

Sept. 20 — Cindy White, 53, was seriously injured in a hit and run collision at 6:15 a.m. while crossing D Street at Petaluma Boulevard after taking just two steps from the sidewalk. Police said the signal was green for her to cross in the marked crosswalk when she was hit on her left side by a pickup. An older model Ford truck, painted white with a burgundy two-tone stripe and a chrome bumper, was seen slowing and then leaving the scene southbound.

"We've had a number of leads, but they've all been dead-ends," Savano said.

Sept. 20 — A 5-year-old elementary school student was struck while riding her bike in a marked and enhanced crosswalk at North McDowell Boulevard at Sunrise Parkway. The girl was riding under the supervision of an adult when a 94-year-old driver struck her in the left lane. The child was trapped in the bicycle under the front of the vehicle and dragged for more than 25 feet, police said. but only slightly injured, police said. The driver said she never saw the child.

Sept. 22 — A woman and her two grandchildren, ages 8 and 6, were hit as they crossed Crinella Drive at Leslie Way at about 8:10 a.m. A 17-year-old unlicensed and uninsured male driver struck them as he was apparently talking to a friend walking alongside the car.

The grandmother, Rosinda Gallegos, 69, was thrown onto the hood and windshield of the car, while the children were knocked to the ground, police said.