77-Year-Old Woman Arrested On Suspicion Of DUI After Injury Collision in Santa Rosa
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- A 77-year-old woman was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs causing injury after she drove onto a sidewalk and struck two elderly women in Santa Rosa's Oakmont Village Wednesday afternoon.
The driver, identified by Santa Rosa police as Santa Rosa resident Gayle Gray, told officers that she was pulling out of the Oakmont Village Market this afternoon when she accidentally hit the gas, instead of the brakes.
Gray had just purchased items at the market and was driving her car through the parking lot toward Oakmont Drive, police said.
Oakmont is an active, retirement community located within Santa Rosa.
Police said Gray was driving a white 1994 Lexus sedan when she struck two elderly women walking south on the sidewalk and crossing the Oakmont Village Market's driveway.
Gray then continued driving across the Oakmont Drive's center median and two lanes of traffic before crashing into a chain-link fence, police said.
At 1:13 p.m., Santa Rosa police officers were dispatched to the Oakmont Village Market and found two victims, identified as 85-year-old Jackie Simon and 91-year-old Josephine Ross, both of Santa Rosa, laying in the roadway with significant injuries. Both women were taken to Memorial Hospital.
When police arrived at the scene, Gray was still in her vehicle, along with a small dog. Gray told police that the dog had been on her lap while she was driving and that the dog had distracted her from the road.
Investigators said Gray struck Simon and Ross with the front of her vehicle and carried them on the hood of her car as she continued to accelerate across Oakmont Drive.
Simon and Ross were thrown from the hood of Gray's car as she accelerated.
Simon remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries while Ross has suffered injuries not considered life-threatening, police said.
Officers said Gray showed signs and symptoms of intoxication and was arrested at the scene.
Gray faces enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury on a person over the age of 70 while committing a felony and for causing great bodily injury to two or more victims while driving intoxicated, according to police.
