LAKEPORT — A Clearlake Oaks man pleaded guilty Tuesday to reckless driving and admitted he inflicted serious injury to an 18-year-old on a BMX bike when he crashed into the man and didn”t stop three years earlier in Clearlake Oaks.
Jon Dana Sondahl, 61, could face up to three years in prison, Senior deputy district attorney John Langan said.
About 6:15 p.m. Feb. 24, 2007 the 18-year-old was riding his bike on the shoulder of Highway 20 just east of Oak Grove Avenue, California Highway Patrol reported.
Sondahl was driving in the shoulder behind the bicyclist on the rainy night and struck the man.
“The victim was thrown about 20 feet in the air,” Langan said.
Fire crews near the crash found the 18-year-old in a ditch, Langan said.
The bicyclist was transported to the hospital for major head injuries, CHP reported. He was not wearing a helmet.
“The defendant said he thought he hit a shopping cart and not a person and he couldn”t see because the windows were fogged up,” Langan said.
CHP officers found parts of the vehicle and canvassed the neighborhood for a match and found the Plymouth Voyager parked close to Sondahl”s trailer, Langan said. The defendant then came out of the trailer and admitted to CHP officers that he had been in a crash.
Sondahl said he drove around the crash site but didn”t see the victim.
The District Attorney”s office charged Sondahl with felony hit and run because he didn”t stop and the victim was seriously injured, Langan said.
Because Sondahl admitted to inflicting serious injury to the victim, the charge will count as a strike against him, Langan said.
Sondahl will return to court April 29 for sentencing.
Contact Katy Sweeny at kdsweeny@gmail.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
