NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Authorities have released the name of a woman who was found mortally injured on Highway 29 in Napa County early Sunday morning after being struck by a vehicle.
On Wednesday the Napa County Sheriff's Office identified the woman as 57-year-old Maria Cruz Pascual Bejar of Rohnert Park.
Lake County residents driving to work shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday found Bejar's body in the southbound lane of the 4100 block of Highway 29 near Old Lawley Toll Road, as Lake County News has reported.
Bejar died as she was being flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment, authorities said.
A Monday autopsy showed that Bejar suffered multiple blunt force trauma consistent with being struck by a vehicle, according to Capt. Doug Pike of the Napa County Sheriff’s Office.
Pike said Napa County Sheriff's investigators and the California Highway Patrol are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the hit-and-run crash.
He said investigators are asking for the public's assistance in their efforts to determine what Bejar was doing in the rural area where she was found, where pedestrians are not common.
They are looking for anyone who may have traveled through that stretch of highway between 4 and 5 a.m. Sunday. Additionally, they would like to speak with anyone who may have seen Bejar on Saturday night.
Anyone with information is asked to call Napa County Sheriff's Office Investigations Bureau at 707-253-4591.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.