Man killed by hit-and-run driver identified

The driver of a Chevy pickup who hit 51-year-old Napa man’s car fled the scene Saturday west of Petaluma and remains at large.|
RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A man killed by a hit-and-run driver west of Petaluma early Saturday was identified as Ubaldo Arias Mendoza, 51, of Napa, according to the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office.

Mendoza apparently was a field worker on his way home at about 4 a.m. when his 1994 Mazda was hit by an out-of-control Chevrolet pickup on Bodega Avenue.

Mendoza was trapped in his car and died at the scene. The pickup driver ran off on foot.

CHP officers Tuesday still were looking for the driver.

The truck driver had been headed east near King Road when the truck drifted off the road’s edge onto dirt. It hit two mailboxes then spun and crossed into traffic, striking the Mazda.

Based on registration from the 2007 pickup, CHP officers went to the owner’s home later Saturday morning and spoke to that person, but it wasn’t clear who was driving the truck at the time of the crash, CHP officials said.

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