Highway Patrol Seeks Driver in Main Street Hit-and-Run

The California Highway Patrol is asking anyone who saw a hit-and-run accident at Eighth and Main streets Sunday night to contact them with information.

Spokesman Brian Pennings said that 68-year-old Darlene Gadberry of Ramona was taken by ambulance to Palomar Hospital after the 6:20 p.m. incident.

Witnesses reported that Gadberry had been crossing northbound at Eighth Street and as she crossed the eastbound lane, a pickup truck made a left turn westbound onto Main Street from northbound Eighth Street. The truck struck her and knocked her down and continued on Main Street, Pennings said.

Gadberry sustained a laceration to the back of her head, a broken pelvis, broken ribs and a collapsed lung.

There were at least three witnesses to the incident. One described the truck as blue, and the other two said it was white or silver. The model and make are unknown.

This is the third report of a pedestrian hit on Main Street in the past three months. Asked about the frequency of accidents on Main Street, Pennings said that, generally, accidents occur because pedestrians fail to yield to traffic, while other accidents can involve driver impairment.

“In this case, the person was crossing the road legally,” he said.

“Caltrans and the county look at these incidents very closely and if there’s anything we can do to prevent these incidents we would do it,” Pennings said.

“Engineering, education and enforcement are the three keys to preventing accidents,” he said. “But none of these is enough to curb an unreasonable driver.”

In this case, however, he added, “We haven't talked to the driver ... so we don't know what caused this incident.”

Pennings said the driver would face felony charges for injuring a pedestrian and leaving the scene.

He confirmed that in a fatal accident on Main Street recently, the driver who hit the victim reported that he did not see the man due to the sun in his eyes. Pennings said he doesn’t know what charges may be filed in that case. “The district attorney determines the charges,” he said.