CHP Investigating if Pedestrian Killed on Highway 101 Came From Jail

By Bay City News

The California Highway Patrol is investigating whether a man who was struck and killed after running onto U.S. Highway 101 Tuesday night had just been released from Marin County Jail.

"We believe we know who he is, but we have to confirm his identity," CHP Officer Andrew Barclay said this morning.

The CHP is in touch with about two-dozen people who called to say they witnessed the incident, Barclay said.

The man was hit at about 8:30 p.m. near the North San Pedro Road on-ramp to northbound Highway 101 in San Rafael, a short distance from the jail.

A preliminary report indicated that the man ran from the right shoulder of the highway into the lanes of traffic.

Witnesses said he was in the No. 2 lane -- the second lane from the left -- when he was struck by a Toyota Matrix, according to the CHP.

Barclay said the driver of the Matrix, 38-year-old Ana Hernandez of Novato, stopped and remained at the scene until emergency responders arrived.

The CHP initially said it appeared the impact from the collision with the Toyota threw the man into another traffic lane, where he was struck by a second car, a silver or gray sedan that did not stop at the scene.

However, Barclay said today the CHP is still investigating whether there was, in fact, a second car involved.

"We're making sure there actually was a second vehicle or if people were seeing different things," Barclay said.

The collision closed three northbound lanes until about 10:10 p.m.

The Marin County coroner's office has not yet released the pedestrian's name.

Copyright © 2012 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.