Suspect driver surrenders in Santa Rosa wheelchair user hit-and-run fatal collision

A suspect driver surrendered to police following a fatal hit-and-run crash that killed a wheelchair user in Santa Rosa on Monday, the department said Tuesday.

The incident happened at about 2:47 p.m. at the intersection of W. College Avenue and Clover Drive in West Santa Rosa. The Santa Rosa Police Department said that multiple witnesses called 911 to report a lifted white pickup truck hit a pedestrian and then fled.

Officers arrived along with members of the Santa Rosa Fire Department arrived and declared the wheelchair user dead at the scene, and it was the adult male pedestrian was killed upon impact, police said.

Police said that the driver of the GMC pickup was headed east on W. College and struck the pedestrian who was crossing south from Clover Drive. Investigators obtained witness statements and nearby security camera footage and determined the truck was stopped at the intersection for a red light as the wheelchair user crossed the intersection and was still in the process of crossing when the eastbound light turned green.

The driver of the truck then proceeded through the intersection at a slow rate of speed on collided with the victim in the crosswalk, police said. According to investigators, a man and a woman exited the vehicle and approached the victim before getting back into the vehicle and continuing east on W. College Avenue.  

After obtaining a make and model of the suspect vehicle from security camera footage, analysts with the department's real-time crime center used automated license plate reader information to identify the vehicle, police said. As investigators were on their way to the registered address of the vehicle, a family member contacted the department to say the driver was at their home wanting to surrender, according to police. 

Officers arrived at the home and detained the man and woman believed to have been in the truck at the time of the collision. Police identified 21-year-old Israel Ramirez Sanchez of Santa Rosa as the driver. The passenger was not arrested and her identity was not released. Investigators were determining if drugs or alcohol contributed to the crash, police said.

Ramirez Sanchez was arrested on a charge of felony hit and run resulting in death.

Police said an autopsy would be conducted to confirm the exact cause and time of death; the victim's identity was withheld by the Sonoma County Coroner's Office until his family was notified.

The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office was also investigating the crash. Police encouraged anyone who witnessed the collision or has information about it, including video footage, to contact the department's accident investigator Brenden Sawyer at bredensawyer@srcity.org.