CHP: Pedestrian struck, killed at Highway 12 intersection

A 36-year-old Santa Rosa man was struck and killed Monday night by a pickup truck in Sonoma , according to authorities.

The man was hit, shortly after 8 p.m., as he in the crosswalk at the intersection of Verano Avenue and Highway 12 shortly after 8 p.m. when hit, according to Napa California Highway Patrol public information officer Jaret Paulson.

According to authorities, Alvaro Alvalos, 24, of Sonoma was driving a 2019 Toyota Tundra west on Verano Avenue and turned onto Highway 12 when for an “undetermined reason, the truck and the pedestrian crashed within the south crosswalk.”

Avalos immediately stopped, according to Paulson, and remained at the scene while Sonoma Valley Fire Department attended to the pedestrian.

The pedestrian suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, the CHP said.

Authorities are waiting to notify his next of kin before identifying the man.

After a preliminary investigation, drugs and alcohol are not believed to be a factor in the crash at this time, Paulson said. Speeding is also not believed to be a factor.

An investigation into the crash is ongoing, according to Paulson.

Monday’s fatal crash is not the first at the intersection of Verano Avenue and Highway 12. No one may know that better than Boyes Hot Springs resident Gina Carillo Pomeroy. Her 78-year-old father, Raymond Carrillo, was was struck and killed by a vehicle in 2020 near the same spot.

“When I hear sirens, and then they stop on Verano Avenue or close by, I anxiously walk to the accident praying that the outcome is not a fatality or serious injury,” Pomeroy said. “My daughter, Emma, and I do all we can to not fall apart every time. It brings my father Ray Carillo’s death to the forefront like it happened yesterday.”

Pomeroy said she would contact the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration and the Vehicle Safety Hotline to bring attention to the notorious intersection.

“I would imagine that any calls I make won’t change anything. But, at this time, I am determined to do what I can whether or not I will be heard,” Pomeroy said. “How many fatalities and injuries need to happen before actions will be taken?”

Contact Chase Hunter at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com and follow @Chase_HunterB on Twitter.