Hit-and-run driver remains unknown

A cyclist in Saturday's GranFondo bike event remained hospitalized Tuesday with serious head injuries after being struck by a hit-and-run driver, the CHP reported Tuesday.

The CHP is looking for the driver and vehicle and was investigating the reports of other riders who said they saw a vehicle driving erratically around cyclists just prior to the collision.

Anoush Zebarjadian, 57, of San Francisco suffered head injuries and multiple abrasions when he was hit by the vehicle and crashed to the ground, Sgt. Allan Capurro said.

Tuesday he remained at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in serious condition in the intensive care unit, a hospital spokeswoman said. His wife declined a request for an interview.

Zebarjadian, who event officials said wasn't a registered participant in the GranFondo, was hit at about 4 p.m. while on the return leg of the 103-mile ride.

He was heading east on Graton Road, just west of Green Hill Road. He was struck while on a descent of the road.

The vehicle, heading in the same direction, collided with the rider and didn't stop.

Another rider said he saw the collision.

"(The driver) just accelerated fast and ...turned in hard and sharp" as he pulled alongside the rider, said Martinez rider Steve Turnbloom.

The rider yelled out and dropped to the ground hard, "Oh my God it just made me sick," said Turnbloom, 58. "He went down, bam."

"It knocked him out cold. The driver just accelerated on," Turnbloom said. "I couldn't believe it."

The injured rider was lying partially on his side, bleeding. His damaged Cannondale road bike had fallen nearby.

Turnbloom and other riders, including a doctor, stopped. Drivers stopped as well. Firefighters arrived and the man was taken by ambulance to Memorial Hospital.

"It's disturbing," said Carlos Perez, event organizer. "More than anything, how do we ID this person and get them off the road."

Riders were contacting the CHP with information.

CHP officials released few details Tuesday about the crash or a possible description of the vehicle, waiting to have a clearer picture, said Capurro.

Perez said he spoke with several riders.

"Multiple people said the driver was driving erratically...or driving aggressively. They thought maybe (the driver) was taking swipes at riders purposefully and many of the people I've spoken with said they were almost hit," Perez said.

Turnbloom said the driver appeared to be male, travelling in a dark-colored, older model SUV.

He said just prior to the crash, the driver passed him and two other riders on the downhill stretch, accelerating faster than it seemed necessary.

"He missed me by a foot," Turnbloom said. "He accelerates and swerves between the two of them. He almost clipped the back of the girl with the back of his car. She almost rear-ended (the other rider.)"

Moments later, the San Francisco man was on the ground.

"It's been three days. I'm still upset," Turnbloom said Tuesday.

The GranFondo is a fundraiser, helping various causes, including Forget Me Not Farm, LiveStrong, Lance Armstrong's fight for a cancer cure; also for the Tour of California. The ride drew about 6,000 riders.

Another rider suffered broken bones during a bike crash on King Ridge Road. He was flown to a local hospital due to the remote location.

The CHP said that crash didn't involve a car.