Another Crash on Colusa, Residents Try To Restrain Hit-and-Run Driver

Neighborhood were underscored last Thursday night when a black Honda rammed into a red Ford Escape parked on Colusa Avenue in Kensington, precipitating a confrontation in which residents tried to restrain the driver before she fled.

The driver, however, didn't fully escape. She was later traced by police because of telltale evidence left at the scene: her license plate. 

The owner of the 2001 Ford Escape, Patty Robertson, said she was alerted to the accident when she and her husband heard a loud sound outside about 10:15 p.m. and rushed out.

“We were screaming at her, 'We see you! We see you! You better stop!'” Robertson said.

While Robertson and a neighbor who had arrived at the scene near Lynn Avenue were banging on the back of the Honda, her husband, Jeff Robertson, tried to open the passenger door to stop the driver, but he was unsuccessful. The vehicles were jammed too close together, according to Patty Robertson.

Patty Robertson said the driver’s car was burning rubber as she was trying to go in reverse. The driver managed to dislodge the Honda off of the Ford Escape and fled.

In the process, the front bumper of the Honda was ripped off, along with the vehicle’s license plate.

“So she left us a calling card,” said Patty Robertson.

She noted that Colusa Avenue is a relatively wide thoroughfare in certain stretches where it’s easy for cars to speed. The winding road passes through Berkeley, Kensington and El Cerrito.

Kensington police Officer Kevin Hui said police located the suspect two days later, thanks to the license plate. He said they will submit a report to the District Attorney’s office, which decides whether to file charges.

Officer Hui said the Honda driver is a woman who resides in Berkeley. Hui indicated police would seek a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge, though Patty Robertson said she later spoke to another police officer at National Night Out last night, Tuesday, who told her that the Honda driver recently moved to the United States and was unfamiliar with the legal process.

The woman has insurance and willingly identified herself as the driver in the accident, said Patty Robertson, who added that she plans to meet with police to discuss whether to seek prosecution. She said she’s not likely to pursue prosecution if the driver’s insurance covers the damage.

Nevertheless, she said, car crashes are an abiding fear. “We are no strangers to that sound,” she said, referring to hearing the impact Thursday night. “This is the third parked car accident and fourth accident that we know of in the past six or seven years.”

Officer Hui acknowledged that speeding is a problem throughout Kensington. 

“People speed on every single street,” he said, noting that he’s clocked drivers going at 45 mph in a 25-mph street.

He said that residents have also complained about drivers not yielding to pedestrian right-of-ways, for example, at the intersection of Arlington and Amherst avenues. Traffic concerns have also been identified along Franciscan Way and other parts of Colusa Avenue, especially the stretch near Colusa Circle, he said.

Stepped up enforcement continues, said Hui, as police officers patrol busy intersections and use a hand-held radar device that alerts them to speeding vehicles. 

Robertson said she’s seen police cars hide at the intersection of Santa Fe and Colusa avenues. Although she appreciates the increased enforcement, she would also like to see signs go up reminding drivers of the speed limit. An electronic sign showing approaching drivers their speed was on The Arlington.

To address these continued concerns, Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia's office and the Kensington Police Protection and Community Services District are holding a traffic safety meeting on Aug. 15 at the Kensington Community Center. Those who attend can meet the police department's traffic officer as well as learn how traffic safety enforcement works. Residents are invited to bring questions and comments.