Pedestrians and bicyclists can still face dangers from motor vehicles, even though they aren’t the ones behind the wheel. It’s important for bicyclists and pedestrians as well as motorists to follow the rules of the road – especially when it comes to following traffic signals and using crosswalks.
That may have been what happened in a fatal pedestrian accident that happened in Santa Rosa last week. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported that police have released the identity of a male pedestrian that was killed in southwest Santa Rosa on Wednesday, March 20th as he was crossing Stony Point Road during rainy weather.
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Richard Anthony Burns, 53, of Santa Rosa was crossing the road in the dark in an area located south of Hearn Avenue. According to Sgt. Summer Glockner with the Santa Rosa Police Department, Burns was attempting to cross the road when a teen driver, Esteban Garcia Martinez, 18, of Santa Rosa, struck him. Martinez was traveling northbound on Stony Point Road at approximately 40 miles per hour. The impact sent Burns into a mailbox. Burns was pronounced dead at the scene.
Eyewitnesses to the accident told authorities that the roadway was dark and it would have been very difficult for Martinez to stop in time to avoid hitting Burns. Martinez stayed at the scene of the fatal crash and cooperated fully with police. It was determined that he was not impaired in any way. He was not charged in the case.
This is the second pedestrian accident ending in a fatality in Santa Rosa in less than a week.
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