Two bicyclists hit by suspected drunken driver near Sebastopol

Two bicyclists suffered major injuries when they were hit by a suspected drunken driver Wednesday north of Sebastopol.

Ulises Valdez, 27, of Sebastopol, was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence, CHP Public Information Officer David deRutte said in a news release.

The two bicyclists, one a 12-year-old boy and the other a 50-year-old man, were unrelated and riding northbound separately on the right shoulder of High School Road south of Gaye Road about 6 p.m.

The suspect, driving a Ram Rebel pickup, approached the bicyclists from behind on High School Road, driving at a high speed, and lost control on a left curve in the road, deRutte said. Valdez drove onto the shoulder and collided with the 12-year-old bicyclist, continued out of control back into the traffic lane, then back onto the right shoulder, where the truck struck the other bicyclist, he said.

The pickup then drove off the road and collided with a utility pole and a tree. Valdez and the bicyclists were taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with major injuries; the boy later went to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland.

“The injuries were not life-threatening,” deRutte said. “Major, but not life-threatening. The child was hit first, then 50 feet or more ahead was the adult bicyclist. It probably happened very fast.”

Both bicyclists were wearing helmets, he added.

The CHP is looking for witnesses to the collision or the events leading up to it, and asked anyone with information to call their office at 707-588-1400.

You can reach Staff Writer Kathleen Coates at kathleen.coates@pressdemocrat.com.