Bicyclist hit by truck identified as Santa Rosa man

One of two bicyclists who was struck and seriously injured by a suspected drunken driver Wednesday north of Sebastopol was Mark Osborne, 52, of Santa Rosa, a CHP spokesperson said Friday.

The name of the second bicyclist, who is 12, is not being released because he is a minor, said CHP Public Information Officer David deRutte.

Both suffered life-threatening injuries, deRutte acknowledged. An update on their condition was not available.

Ulises Valdez, 27, of Sebastopol, was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence, and taken to Memorial Hospital along with the two bicyclists, deRutte said.

The two bicyclists were unrelated and riding north 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, continued out of control back into the traffic lane, then back onto the right shoulder, where the truck struck the other bicyclist, deRutte said.

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

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