On Sunday early morning, a distressing multi-vehicle collision occurred at the intersection of College Avenue and King Street, leaving one individual injured and two vehicles dramatically impacted. The suspect, driving a black Chevrolet Trail Blazer, fled the scene post-collision, eluding law enforcement for a time. Little did she know, an outburst in a church parking lot would ultimately seal her fate, as it drew the attention of the Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD) and led to her arrest according to the Santa Rosa Police Facebook page.
Shortly after the police had finished investigating the crash site, an unusual phone call was received by the SRPD. The caller described a woman yelling into her phone at the Community Baptist Church parking lot, visibly distressed and seemingly connected to the earlier hit and run. According to the same Facebook post, the woman had divulged to a bystander that she had been in a car accident and that her SUV bore damage on its passenger side. Upon receiving this information, SRPD officers were dispatched to the church to assess the situation further.
Upon arrival, officers were able to connect the dots between the earlier collision and the 26-year-old Santa Rosa resident Imani Ward. Ward's demeanor in the church parking lot combined with the damage to her Trail Blazer, which matched the vehicle description provided by witnesses at the scene, served as sufficient evidence for the SRPD to take her into custody. Ward has subsequently been booked into the Sonoma County Jail and charged with causing a hit and run involving injury.
