Santa Rosa homeless man hit by vehicle on Lewis Road dies from injuries

A Santa Rosa-area homeless man died Tuesday from serious injuries he suffered when he was struck Monday night by a vehicle while crossing a major four-lane road in central Santa Rosa.

Grover Cleveland Duffield III, 64, died at 2:48 p.m. at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, according to Santa Rosa police.

He was struck at about 8:40 p.m. Monday by a pickup as he walked in the crosswalk across Lewis Road at Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa traffic Sgt. Ryan Corcoran said. Multiple witnesses told officers two drivers on Steele Lane, heading toward Lewis Road across the avenue, had the right-of-way as the southbound man walked into their path.

“It wasn’t his (Duffield’s) turn to go and he went. And the vehicles had the green light,” Corcoran said.

One driver, in the left, eastbound lane, saw the man and hit his brakes, stopping in time. But Toyota Tundra driver Robert Arlington, 61, of Santa Rosa, in the right lane, was just slightly behind the other vehicle and his visibility was obstructed, Corcoran said.

Arlington told officers he didn’t see the man in the crosswalk until it was too late.

Duffield was knocked onto the truck’s hood and thrown about 50 feet. Officers found him unconscious on the roadway.

Officers suspect Duffield had been drinking, based on witness descriptions of the man’s actions prior to being hit, Corcoran said. Officers suspect he was carrying and drinking from a bottle of whiskey before the crash, Corcoran said. A liquor bottle was found on the roadway.

The pickup driver, Arlington, who’d been headed home after work when he struck the man, stopped and cooperated with officers. Corcoran said the driver submitted to sobriety tests, demonstrating to officers he hadn’t been drinking. Officers do not think he was speeding.

While the case remains under investigation, initial findings point to the possibility of Duffield being at fault, the sergeant said. An autopsy scheduled for this week will include tests for alchohol and drug intoxication, he said. Attempts to reach family members for Duffield were not immediately successful Tuesday.

The fatality is the most serious of three crashes this year on Santa Rosa streets involving homeless pedestrians who were intoxicated or suspected of being drunk. In the two previous incidents, the pedestrians involved were found to be at fault, due at least in part to their level of intoxication, according to the police investigations.

On March 2, Thomas Michael Cole, 26, was hit by a Subaru Forrester as he walked at night across Piner Road outside of a crosswalk. Police said the driver saw the man and tried to stop but couldn’t avoid hitting him.

Cole initially suffered what police said appeared to be life-threatening injuries but has survived, Corcoran said.

On Jan. 26 at about?11 p.m., Jennifer Accetturo, 33, was struck by a pickup as she pushed a shopping cart across Piner Road near Coffey Lane outside of a crosswalk. She suffered significant injuries.

In that case police also said the driver saw the woman at the last moment and tried to stop but couldn’t avoid the collision.

Cole and Accetturo are homeless residents in the Santa Rosa area, Corcoran said.

Santa Rosa traffic officers routinely target cyclist and pedestrian violations in an effort to educate and enforce laws, he said. “There are certain circumstances we can’t prevent.”

“Quite a few citations we write end up being to homeless people who are just crossing where they shouldn’t, which is related to this exact issue,” said Corcoran.

Such trends in fatal and near-fatal crashes have come and gone in Santa Rosa in recent years. At least 10 pedestrians were killed by cars in the city from Jan. 1 2011 to the end of 2012. At least six were Santa Rosa-area homeless men, most of whom were intoxicated at the time.

About a third of the local homeless population report drug and alcohol abuse, according to a January report by the nonprofit research firm, Applied Survey Research.

Many homeless people prefer to walk the streets on colder nights - as opposed to sleeping - because it helps keep them warm, said Jennielynn Holmes, director of shelter and housing for Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa.

“They are doing that as a survival mechanism to stay warm throughout the night,” Holmes said. “A lot of people tell us it’s how they get through the night.”

Corcoran asked anyone who witnessed Monday night’s crash to contact Officer Kenny Ferrigno at 707-543-3636.