UC Berkeley Chief Campus Counsel Killed In Sonoma Hit-And-Run

BERKELEY, CA — The Sonoma County coroner's office has identified a Berkeley bicyclist who was struck and killed by a vehicle near Guerneville on Sunday morning as 59-year-old Christopher Patti. He was the Chief Campus Counsel and Associate General Counsel for UC Berkeley.

"I speak for the Berkeley community in saying how grief stricken we are at Chris Patti's untimely death. He was an extraordinary colleague," Chancellor Carol Christ said in a statement.

Patti was stopped on the right shoulder of River Road just west of Summer Crossing when he was struck by a BMW around 8:45 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

The BMW driver lost control on a curve and slid across the road where Patti was looking at his cellphone. The driver continued west, turned around and drove back toward Guerneville, but a license plate was found at the scene, CHP officials said. Jonathan Ritter, 28, of Rio Nido/Monte Rio, has been identified as a person of interest in the crash, according to CHP Officer Jonathan Sloat.

Russian River Fire Protection District crews responded to the crash and pronounced Patti dead at the scene, according to the CHP.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the CHP at (707) 588-1400.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock

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