St. Helena Police Identify Driver In Hit-And-Run Involving Wheelchair

ST. HELENA, CA — The St. Helena Police Department has identified the driver suspected of hit-and-run in a collision with a pedestrian in a wheelchair.

The collision happened shortly after 9 p.m. May 24 on Main Street — state Highway 29— at Spring Street.

A pedestrian in a wheelchair was crossing west on Main Street in the crosswalk when they were struck by a vehicle traveling southbound. The victim suffered major injuries and was airlifted to Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa.

The victim is now recovering at home.

As for the suspect vehicle, it left the scene and was not immediately identified by the victim or witnesses.

In an attempt to identify the car and its driver, St. Helena police Chief Chris Hartley said, the St. Helena Police Department "embarked on a massive collection of surveillance video of the business district on Main Street and the intersection with Spring Street."

"The St. Helena Police Department would like to express their gratitude to all the local businesses that invested their resources and time to provide their surveillance video," Hartley said Monday n a news release. "From this surveillance video, officers were able to identify a possible make and model of the suspect’s vehicle."

Then, a St. Helena police officer was out with his family in Napa and saw a car he believed matched the description of the one involved in the hit-and-run collision.

Officer Massella notified his supervisor of the car's location and the license plate number, and St. Helena officers were immediately dispatched to the vehicle's registered owner in Napa.

"The vehicle located in Napa had damage consistent with a collision with a wheelchair and damage consistent with the evidence left at [the] scene of the collision," Hartley said.

St. Helena police identified the driver as Ceja Ignacio Gutierrez, a 76-year-old Napa man.

St. Helena PD believes Gutierrez was driving the silver 1999 Toyota Camry during the hit-and-run and has submitted a felony criminal complaint to the Napa County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution, the chief said.

"The St. Helena Police Department would like to thank all those that assisted with this investigation," Hartley said. "Without this kind of community commitment and involvement, cases like these would go unsolved."