Teen bicyclist hit crossing Petaluma street still hospitalized

One driver stopped for the boy as he rode through the crosswalk, but a second driver told officers she didn’t see him in time, police said.|

A Petaluma teen remained hospitalized Wednesday after he was hit by a car while crossing a street on his bicycle.

Police were investigating Tuesday’s 3:20 p.m. crash on Lakeville Street at East Court in west Petaluma, including looking into who had the right of way.

The 14-year-old teen remained at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital where he was being treated for injuries, including a fractured jaw, Petaluma police traffic Sgt. Jeremy Walsh said.

The crash knocked the teen into the windshield and threw him to the ground. He initially was expected to be airlifted to a Bay Area hospital but was taken by ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial’s trauma center.

The preliminary investigation showed the first northbound driver stopped as the teen used the crosswalk to get across Lakeville Street, but the driver in the second lane didn’t.

“He kept going, thinking the second car would stop. He rode in front of the second vehicle and he got hit,” Walsh said.

The driver, Ruby Badilla-Sanchez, 23, of Santa Rosa, told officers she didn’t see him in time to avoid the collision, Walsh said. Officers don’t believe she was impaired, he said.

The crosswalk located mid-block doesn’t have crossing lights or signs, leaving it to pedestrians and drivers to watch out for each other. Bike riders are legally required to walk bikes in crosswalks.

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