Santa Rosa girl remains hospitalized after being hit by car

A 6-year-old Santa Rosa girl remained hospitalized Tuesday with critical injuries after being hit by a car while walking with her mother in a Petaluma Hill Road crosswalk.

Guadalupe Nunez-Solorzanol was believed to have life-threatening injuries and was flown to Children’s Hospital Oakland after being treated at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Her condition Tuesday afternoon wasn’t available but a hospital official told Santa Rosa police officers investigating the crash that she is alive, Santa Rosa traffic Sgt. Ryan Corcoran said.

She was struck Sunday night at about 9:30 p.m. She and her family had been visiting relatives who live nearby and were walking to their car, parked across Petaluma Hill Road near Breeze Way.

Her father and older brother had already crossed and the girl and her mother were walking hand-in-hand in the crosswalk with its pedestrian warning lights activated, police said. As a northbound car approached the intersection, they realized the driver wasn’t going to stop and they tried to jump out of the way, Corcoran said.

Driver Stephen Barbieri, 67, of Santa Rosa apparently saw them at the last moment, applied his brakes but hit the little girl. The impact with the Ford Focus threw the girl up the road about 25 feet, according to police.

Barbieri stopped and has cooperated with investigating officers. The crash remained under investigation.