Published in Palo Alto Weekly, August 27, 2009

A pedestrian/car collision with minor injuries has become a hit-and-run case when the car’s driver left the scene Wednesday, police reported.

Palo Alto police have discovered the identity of the driver of a dark Lexus sedan that hit a 16-year-old Palo Alto High School student on El Camino Real near Churchill Avenue and then drove off about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Palo Alto police Sgt. Dan Ryan said.

Police tracked down the identity of the driver by using partial plate numbers Wednesday night to find the woman who left the scene.

The student was running west across El Camino Real against a red light to catch a bus, cleared three northbound lanes, but was hit by a sedan in the far southbound lane, police spokeswoman Kara Salazar said. Witnesses reported the girl was hit and rolled against the car’s windshield, Salazar said.

She was examined at Stanford Hospital and suffered only minor injuries to her right elbow and left knee, police reported.

Ryan said the older woman driving the sedan stopped briefly to examine what happened, didn’t see anything and drove off.

The student wasn’t visible to the driver because of a bus obstructing the line of sight, Ryan said. Though the investigation found the incident to be the pedestrian’s fault, officials tracked the driver down at her home and have referred the case to the district attorney for possible hit-and-run charges, Ryan said.

Ryan said police used partial license plate numbers Wednesday night to locate the driver. The female student was running west across El Camino Real against a red light (apparently to catch the bus) and cleared three northbound lanes but was hit by the sedan in the far southbound lane, Salazar reported.