Attorney Michael Rehm — (800) 978-0754

Pedestrian crashes in Santa Rosa produce some of the most severe injuries seen in personal injury practice. When a person on foot is struck by a vehicle, there is no structural protection between the pedestrian and the force of impact. The consequences range from fractures and traumatic brain injury to paralysis and death. In 2023 (the most recent year for which data is currently available), the Office of Traffic Safety recorded 37 pedestrian victims killed or injured in Santa Rosa. Across Sonoma County, an average of 7.4 pedestrians were killed each year from 2021 through 2025, according to UC Berkeley SafeTREC data. Attorney Michael Rehm represents pedestrian accident victims throughout Santa Rosa and Sonoma County on a contingency fee basis.

The Scope of the Problem in Santa Rosa

The City of Santa Rosa's Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, drawing on California Highway Patrol collision data from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, documented 573 pedestrian-involved collisions in Santa Rosa over a ten-year period. Thirty-three of those collisions were fatal — a fatality rate of nearly six percent, significantly higher than the bicycle crash fatality rate over the same period. Nearly fifteen percent of pedestrian crashes resulted in severe injury. Only about three percent resulted in no injury at all.

Two intersections emerged as the highest-concentration pedestrian crash locations in Santa Rosa during the study period: 3rd Street and D Street, with ten pedestrian-involved crashes, and McConnell Avenue and Mendocino Avenue, with seven. Over eighty percent of pedestrian crashes were attributed to one of two causes: driver failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian (44 percent) or a pedestrian violation (37 percent). Roughly 38 percent of pedestrian crashes occurred at night with functioning streetlights present — conditions that raise questions about vehicle speed, sight lines, and crosswalk design rather than simply darkness.

The Vision Zero Action Plan for Sonoma County, using data from 2016 through 2020, found that pedestrians and cyclists made up eight percent of all trips in the county but accounted for nineteen percent of traffic deaths. Impaired driving, unsafe speed, and failure to follow right-of-way rules were identified as the primary causes in 71 percent of all fatal and severe injury crashes countywide.

Driver Duties Toward Pedestrians

California imposes a duty on drivers to yield the right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks and at intersections. A driver who strikes a pedestrian in a marked or unmarked crosswalk has violated a duty owed to that pedestrian under California law and may be found negligent. The general standard of care under Civil Code § 1714 applies: every driver must exercise ordinary care to avoid injuring others.

A driver who strikes a pedestrian outside a crosswalk does not automatically escape liability. The analysis turns on whether the driver was exercising ordinary care under the circumstances — including speed, visibility, road conditions, and whether the pedestrian's presence in the roadway was reasonably foreseeable. The foreseeability of harm to a pedestrian is among the factors courts weigh in assessing whether a duty was breached, as set out in Rowland v. Christian (1968) 69 Cal.2d 108.

Defense counsel may raise comparative fault — arguing that the pedestrian was jaywalking, failed to use an available crosswalk, or was distracted at the time of the collision. California's pure comparative fault system does not bar recovery on this basis. It reduces the plaintiff's recovery in proportion to the plaintiff's share of fault. Comparative fault is an argument the defense must raise and prove; it is not a self-executing bar to recovery.

Dangerous Roadway Conditions

Not every pedestrian crash is caused solely by driver inattention. Dangerous conditions of public property — inadequate lighting at a crosswalk, a missing curb cut, sight-obstructing vegetation, or a defectively designed intersection — can impose liability on the government entity responsible for that roadway. Government Code § 835 provides the basis for claims against public entities for dangerous conditions of public property. Claims against a public entity — the City of Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, or Caltrans — require a written claim to be filed with the responsible entity within six months of the date of injury before a lawsuit can proceed. Missing that deadline can potentially bar a claim. Tolling doctrines may apply depending on the facts.

Damages and Statute of Limitations

A pedestrian accident victim may recover economic damages — medical expenses, lost wages, and future care costs — and noneconomic damages including pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 provides a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims against private parties. Whether a particular deadline applies, has run, or is subject to tolling requires individual analysis.

Related Pages

• Santa Rosa Personal Injury Attorney
• Santa Rosa Car Accident Attorney
• Santa Rosa Bicycle Accident Attorney
• Santa Rosa Wrongful Death Attorney
• Santa Rosa Premises Liability Attorney

Attorney Michael Rehm handles pedestrian accident cases throughout Santa Rosa and Sonoma County on a contingency fee basis. No fee without a recovery. Call (800) 978-0754 for a free consultation.

The information on this page is general legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case turns on its own facts. The law can change — statutes are amended, cases are decided, and regulations are revised; nothing on this page should be relied upon as a statement of current law without verification. Deadlines and legal bars discussed on this page are general guides — whether a particular deadline applies, has run, or is subject to tolling, and whether a particular doctrine bars or limits recovery in your case, requires individual analysis. Contact Attorney Michael Rehm to discuss the specific facts of your situation.