Police arrested a Sonoma County woman Tuesday morning on suspicion of driving a van that struck and killed a 70-year-old woman in Petaluma over the weekend.
The driver, June Humphrey, was taken to Sonoma County Jail on a $20,000 bond after she turned herself in to police Tuesday morning.
Humphrey was driving on South McDowell Boulevard about 7:30 p.m. Saturday, police said, when she struck Linda Bartizal, 70, in the crosswalk at Caulfield Lane, knocking Bartizal about 50 feet.
Police did not have Humphrey’s age or place of residence available Tuesday morning.
Police say Bartizal was walking against the traffic light, and that when she was struck, Humphrey stopped briefly before driving off.
The Chrysler van police say Humphrey was driving was found about 30 minutes later in the parking lot of Rooster Run Golf Course, on East Washington Street near city limits. When detectives examined it, the van had damage on the front passenger’s side headlight and windshield, including “physical evidence from the pedestrian,” a news release from the Petaluma Police Department said. Bartizal was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial hospital with life-threatening injuries, including a severed spinal cord, broken ribs, a punctured lung and several fractures to her pelvis. She died at the hospital Sunday morning, said Petaluma traffic Sgt. Ron Klein.
Bartizal had been staying with friends in that area of Petaluma. Klein did not know why she was out for a walk.
“They left to go to dinner and for some reason she decided she needed to go somewhere.”
Staff Writer Christi Warren contributed to this report.
You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport.
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