Anonymous Note, Mother's Suspicions Lead To Santa Rosa Teen's Arrest In Skateboarder Hit & Run Crash
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- An anonymous note left for police helped lead to the arrest of a 16-year-old boy, accused of hitting skateboarder earlier this month in Santa Rosa and driving away from the scene.
The August 6 crash left 20-year-old David Crowhurst with severe injuries, including a fractured skull, orbital sockets and other broken bones. Family members said Crowhurst was recovering but on Wednesday updated his condition to say he was having emergency surgery to remove air pockets from his skull.
The unidentified 16-year old suspect was arrested Monday and faces felony hit and run charges, according to Santa Rosa Police.
Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Ryan Corcoran said the teen told his mother he thought he hit a deer. But investigators found that the time and location of his alleged deer hit coincided exactly with the hit-and-run incident. Police checked with other city agencies and there were no reports of any deer strikes.
On August 10th, Corcoran said an anonymous letter was delivered to a nurse at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. The folded-up note was given to the family who called police. It said, "you may want to take a look at one of my neighbor's cars ... it matches the description of the car in the hit and run case," Corcoran said.
The letter included the address of the juvenile suspect. Police said they found evidence there that led to the boy's arrest.
When they arrived at the house, the teen's mother told officers that she had left a voice-mail message at the police department, saying she suspected her son was involved in the wreck after reading news reports about the skateboarder hit-and-run.
The suspect was released to his mother after his arrest Monday until his case comes up before the juvenile court. He was not talking to police and the family has retained an attorney, said Corcoran.
The Crowhurst family has started funding campaign to help pay for David's recovery. Find out more at gofundme.com/david08062015.
