Santa Rosa police: Cyclist in critical condition after hit-and-run crash

Santa Rosa police have found the car that they believe was involved in a hit-and-run crash on Friday night that left a bicyclist with major injuries, a police spokesman said.

The bicyclist remained hospitalized and in critical condition on Monday, but he is expected to survive, police spokesman Sgt. Chris Mahurin said.

A suspect in the crash has not been identified, Mahurin said.

The Sonoma County Alliance Community Engagement and Safety Rewards Fund is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to an arrest.

According to its website, the alliance is “a coalition of business, agriculture, labor and individuals incorporated to encourage a healthy economy, maintain a sound environment, protect private property rights and promote a responsive political process.”

The fund is a facet of the group’s community safety program. It “provides a monetary reward to assist local law enforcement and the District Attorney’s Office ... in solving violent crimes,” according to the agency’s website.

The rewards are established using donations from alliance members and community residents.

Police found the car, a black Acura MDX, on Saturday in Santa Rosa’s Roseland neighborhood.

It was parked in a residential area east of where the crash occurred around 10:40 p.m Friday at the corner of Sebastopol Road and Corporate Center Parkway.

Nobody was in the car and it was not at the registered owner’s address when police found it, Mahurin said.

The police department has impounded the car and investigators are set to search it Monday or Tuesday, according to Mahurin.

Authorities said the driver left the scene of the collision before police arrived. Responding officers found the cyclist lying unconscious in the roadway.

The collision site occurred at a T-intersection with traffic going east and west on Sebastopol and north and south on Corporate Center.

Sebastopol is parallel to Highway 12 in Santa Rosa’s southwest region. It has a 35 mph speed limit with bicycle lanes in each direction, although several bicyclists opted to use the traffic lanes Monday evening.

Bayside Church and its parking lot line the north side of Sebastopol at the intersection.

There’s an office plaza at the southeast corner while the southwest corner has a shopping plaza with an urgent care facility, convenience store and coffee shop.

Based on interviews with witnesses, police believe the driver is a Latino male who is around 25 years old, with tattoos or writing near his right eyebrow and right cheek.

The suspect has short hair, a mustache and a goatee, according to the police.

A clothing description of the man was not provided by police.

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Pera at matthew.pera@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Matt__Pera.