Woman Dies In Hwy 101 Accident After Her Scooter Hits Downed Streetlight

SONOMA COUNTY, CA - A Santa Rosa woman died early this morning after she thrown from her scooter and struck by a vehicle on northbound U.S. Highway 101, the California Highway Patrol said.

Pamela A. Warren, 58, was riding a 2009 Aprilia Scarabeo scooter around 3:37 a.m. when she struck a light pole that had been knocked down across two lanes of the highway just north of River Road minutes earlier by a big-rig.

The driver of the red and white Freightliner tractor-trailer had veered to the right edge of the highway, struck the pole and continued driving north without stopping, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said.

Warren was ejected from the scooter when she hit the fallen streetlight and landed in the center divider, and the scooter came to rest in the right lane, Sloat said. Warren tried to crawl from the center divider to the right shoulder and she was struck in the left lane by the right front of a northbound 2007 Toyota Prius.

The driver, a 38-year-old Santa Rosa man, saw Warren crawling across the lane but could not avoid hitting her, Sloat said.

Warren was pronounced dead at 4:22 a.m. in Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Sloat said. Alcohol is not suspected as a factor at this time.

The CHP is looking for the driver of the red and white Freightliner truck that was pulling the semi-trailer. Sloat said the cab might have damage on its right front.

The incident closed the two lanes of the highway until 4:54 a.m. Anyone with information is asked to call the CHP at (707) 588-1400.

• Also see: Police: Missing Man's Body Found in North Bay

--Bay City News