Santa Rosa woman had ‘multiple opportunities’ to report hit-and-run, prosecutor says

A Santa Rosa woman claimed an ex-boyfriend burned her SUV without telling her after she fatally struck an 18-year-old Cloverdale man and fled last August, prosecutors say.

Allisa Whitten’s claim is among new details included in a sentencing memorandum the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office filed Tuesday in the Aug. 27 hit-and-run that killed Oswaldo Cardenas Jr.

Whitten, 35, was convicted Nov. 17 and prosecutors recommend Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Mark Urioste impose a six-year prison sentence. Whitten is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 19.

The recommendation from prosecutors counters a Dec. 29 request for minimal sentencing filed by Whitten’s attorney with the Sonoma County Public Defender’s Office.

No other suspects are identified in the matter and the prosecution memorandum doesn’t include specific details about the ex-boyfriend, who Whitten only identified as “Kellys.”

It, instead, uses the alleged activity to illustrate Whitten’s behavior after the collision and why prosecutors recommend she should be given a six-year prison term.

“The defendant had multiple opportunities to report the crash and decided against it every time,” Deputy District Attorney Brian Kandel wrote in the memorandum.

Whitten, who was the driver of a Buick Enclave, hit Cardenas at about 7:30 a.m. Aug. 27 as he and two friends walked along River Road, west of Rio Vista Road.

According to court documents, she attended a Metallica concert the night before and had just parted ways with a friend in Guerneville.

Cardenas and the two 17-year-olds had been fishing when the collision occurred.

Tired and believing she’d hit a sign, Whitten stopped and got out of the SUV only to be confronted by one of Cardenas’ friends who told her what happened.

“The defendant began to cry and apologize, saying, ‘I did not see you guys,’” Kandel wrote. “The defendant got back in her car and fled the scene.”

As she fled, Whitten encountered traffic from the 15th annual Santa Rosa Marathon.

Even though she saw California Highway Patrol officers directing traffic, Kandel wrote, Whitten never stopped to tell any of them what happened.

She got home and parked in the rear of her property, according to the memorandum.

After seeing a social media post about the collision, Whitten said she caught a bus to San Francisco where Kellys lived.

On Aug. 30, her Buick Enclave was found engulfed in flames along Llano Road west of Santa Rosa.

According to the memorandum, Whitten was conflicted over what to do.

She said she told people what happened and some said she would end up in prison. Others suggested she surrender, including an aunt who offered to go with her to police.

Whitten told investigators, “I wanted to turn myself in, but I was scared. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

She was arrested Sept. 1 at her home after investigators used the charred SUV’s registration to find the defendant’s DMV photo, which matched witness’ description.

The District Attorney’s Office charged her on Sept. 25 with one count each of hit-and-run resulting in death or injury, vehicular manslaughter, destroying evidence and driving without a valid license.

She pleaded no contest to each count.

Prosecutors say Whitten has a history of arrests and convictions since 2006. It illustrates “a pattern of poor decision-making” that put others at risk.

It took six days for officials to arrest her and Kandel wrote Whitten passed up her first opportunity to surrender moments after the collision.

“She made this decision in the face of the victim’s friend asking her to call for help,” he wrote.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi