- A
- S
Julia is a confident teen, she is a great listener to her friends, she is outgoing , funny, she is creative, she is passionate, and she loves life.
She is an angel.
She is our miracle.
Julia was a sophmore in high school. She speaks French fluently, is a very skilled photographer, a beautiful illustrator and a nationally competing equestrian.
She volunteers her time helping others, from people on the street to nonprofit organizations supporting the most needy members of society. She is very popular with her peers because of her patience, her authentic and deep caring about their well being, her maturity, warmth, and hysterical sense of humor. Julia would light up a room when she enters. She is an old soul with so much to give.
That is who Julia was before July 3rd, 2009 at 6:12 p.m. But what happened on July 3rd, 2009 destroyed Julia and our family.
Julia, just 15 years old, was hit by a car while she was crossing the road in a marked crosswalk in the City of Sebastopol. The City and Caltrans knew this was a very dangerous crosswalk for years, because others had been seriously injured there and complained before Julia was hit.
I am raising money for Julia’s recovery and medical expenses. She needs intense therapy and 24 hour supervision. I need help to give her the right therapy and life she needs.
Julia has helped so many others before her injury. We hope you can help her now.
Here's Julia's story…
I remember that Friday, July 3, 2009 very well. Julia is very happy because she is visiting friends in Sebastopol to attend the July 3rd Music and Fireworks Festival. She was torn between going to the Giants game with me and her grandmother, and seeing her friends, because this is the last time she will see them before she flies to France Tuesday afternoon for a month-long visit with her grandmother.
According to the boys who were with her, Julia and her three 15 year old pals are on their way to the festivities at Analy High School.
Our experts show that the large oak trees overhanging the north side of the intersection cover Julia and the boys completely in shadow. They say for the driver it is like looking into an unlit tunnel on a bright sunny day.
Julia is on the north side of the crosswalk in the shadow, and enters the westbound lane, ahead of the 3 boys. The boys then enter.
A westbound silver Toyota is several hundred feet, over a block, away. It is even further away from Julia when Julia enters the crosswalk than it is when all three boys enter it after her.
An eastbound red pickup truck is stopping forJulia and her three friends to cross.
The boys told us what happened. They all say the same thing. They think it is safe to cross. They can see the westbound Toyota Corolla, still far away, and the driver's face looking straight towards Julia. The eastbound red truck is coming to a stop for them. They are in a marked crosswalk.
They don’t know the tree shadows are hiding them from the westbound drivers view. They all expect the driver can see them as well as they can see her. They have no idea they are invisible to the westbound driver from shadows. They aren't thinking about shadows because when you're in the shadows looking out you can see the cars in each direction.
It's not the same for the westbound driver though.
Here's what our expert's video shows from the driver's actual vehicle at the same time of day Julia was hit, 1 year later...
There are 4 pedestrians in the crosswalk in that video.
With the lack of advance pedestrian crossing warning signs or flashing pedestrian warning signs the westbound driver has no reason to expect or see pedestrians are crossing ahead.
All experts agree where Julia is. She is just 3 feet from completing her crossing of the westbound lane. After the westbound driver’s windshield passes into the tree shadows, she sees Julia for the first time.
The driver is just 32 feet away from Julia. She has no time to brake to stop. The driver says that she sees Julia is looking at her. Julia is frozen still.
The driver yanks her wheel all the way to the left to try to avoid hitting Julia and misses Taylor by 1 foot.
But Julia is 3 feet ahead of Taylor. And the vehicle is swerving left. So Julia would be hit if she stepped forward. And Julia would be hit if she stepped back as much as Taylor did. Julia is trapped.
The accident reconstruction experts say the front of the silver Toyota strikes Julia and Julia is flipped over the hood and her head hits the steeply angled windshield. The windshield shatters and Julia is propelled into the air, for 39 feet, landing head-first on the highway.
A hostess of a restaurant runs outside. When she gets to the driver she hears the driver say: “I didn’t see her. I didn’t see her.”
The restaurant hostess looks to the west and notices Julia’s body lying motionless on the roadway.
Several minutes later an ambulance arrives and rushes Julia to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Julia is in a coma. She soon stops breathing. Julia is unresponsive.
***
The doctors say that Julia arrives at SRMH with the least level of consciousness a person can have without being dead.
She has 2 brain surgeries in 24 hours.
This was the most horrible part, not knowing whether our daughter was going to live or die.
In the ICU Dr. Eichbaum tells us that Julia is most likely going to be a vegetable, if she even survives.
I collapsed onto the floor of the hospital.
But she did survive. And we are there with her every day, 24/7 in the ICU. Waiting, waiting for her to wake up.
2 months later, she opens her eyes. She slowly shows signs of response . But it’s not like in the movies. It’s slow. Very slow. And it quickly becomes apparent things are not going to be anything like they were...
The doctors say that even if she is waking up she will never be the same as before, her injury is too serious to be able to function.
Julia has a broken skull, broken lumbar spine, and her brain is so swollen they have to remove half of her skull to relieve the pressure. Half of her brain is literally outside of her skull for 4 months until the swelling subsides.
It is that horrible swelling that causes the damage to the left side and front of her brain.
She is transferred to Children’s Hospital Oakland for rehab for 4 months. She doesn't even know I am her mother anymore. She has to learn to eat, walk, speak, go to the bathroom. Her dad and I spend every day and night with her for months hoping to help her regain some function. The doctors and therapists are amazing. It is a slow process...
But she improves. The doctors say it is a miracle she survived and has the function she does with half a brain. But I know that Julia has always been our miracle.
As soon as she is able to, Julia tells me that she loves me. I knew then that some part of Julia is still there. The right side of the brain is the emotional side. Where all Julia’s loving nature was, and still is.
But the doctors say it won’t be easy. Over 1/3 of her brain is dead. They say she now has a 67 IQ. She can’t remember what is said 5 minutes later. She isn’t able to identify an apple if you hold it in front of her and ask her what it is.
She also has extreme physical pain and problems. She has right side paralysis, inability to walk for more than 2 blocks, and she drags her leg when she does. She needs an electronic device to help her pick up her leg for her.
Julia needs a supervised mobility scooter or wheel chair to go distances of more than a block.
She can't use her right hand and arm. She has problems with bladder control, difficulty swallowing, she doesn't sense hunger or fullness so won’t know when to eat or stop eating unless I tell her. She has seizures. She is deaf on the left side, partially blind in her right eye, she has no sense of smell, hypersensitivity to light, sound and touch.
She has no stamina, and she lacks balance and is prone to falls. In fact she fell recently and broke her ankle, which takes longer to heal because of her condition. She has crooked shoulders and unequal posture. Her lack of symmetry are going to cause degenerative bone changes without consistent therapy.
She has chronic pain on her right side, neck and back, severe migraines and head pressure on a daily basis.
Julia needs an attendant everywhere. She can't drive. She can't dress, feed, bathe or walk to the bathroom by herself.
Julia can't decide or plan things on her own. She is overwhelmed by simple tasks. She can't work and she can't go to school.
Julia has extreme fear of abandonment, even when I go into the other room she gets scared. Without an attendant she is at risk of being taken advantage of. She desperately wants someone to love. But is desperately alone.
And her brain makes things worse, because the damage to her frontal lobe impacts her ability to control her emotions. This causes obsessive compulsiveness, depression, suicidality, and even more hopelessness.
But the most horrific thing of all, is that despite her not being able to maintain a thought for more than a few minutes, Julia remembers bits of the girl she was before this happened to her. Her right side of her brain is still there.
She knows that she once spoke French fluently, was a skilled photographer, a beautiful illustrator and an accomplished equestrian. She remembers that she was a popular, adaptable, funny, well-traveled, mature and beautiful girl before she walked into that crosswalk on July 3, 2009. Even though she cannot remember who they are, she remembers that she had many friends who adore her. She remembers that she used to be a rock of support to everyone she knew.
And because she has difficulty forming new memories, every morning, when Julia wakes up, for a moment she thinks that’s who she still is. And every day, soon after waking she confronts the reality that she isn’t any of the things she was and is depending on others to do everything for her. The horrible reality hits her—and it hits her as if it was the first time, day after day after day.
Julia was such an "old soul" before this happened--a strong, confident shoulder for all of her friends and family to lean on.
Now she is socially isolated and can't even feed herself. She wants a boyfriend, she wants to go to college, to get a job, to be married, to have children. She wants what Julia used to want. She will never have any of those things. She wonders how her life can have meaning for her next expected 60 years like this.
***
But there is hope. For the past 5 years I have been taking Julia to therapy religiously, every week, to the extent we could afford it. And it is working.
The Brain Injury Network of the Bay Area is amazing. Physical, occupational, speech therapy. They are all patiently working with Julia. All of this therapy stimulates Julia to help her use the brain and body she has left. It is helping her to be as functional as she can. It is helping her to have some sort of a life. The emotional side of Julia's brain has taken over where the left side is gone. And a beautiful soul still exists and still has much to share with the world.
These therapies are expensive. And even more expensive is the cost of an attendant to make sure Julia is safe each day, and to give me time to work to support Julia. These are all out of pocket costs.
That is why we are humbly asking for your help of any amount.
***
Even more sad about Julia's injury is that the City and Caltrans knew about the danger at the crosswalk, had plans to deal with it, but delayed doing so.
We hired several leading experts in accident reconstruction, biomechanics, driver and pedestrian behavior and traffic engineering to analyze what happened, as well as gathered testimony from all eyewitnesses within hours of Julia’s accident.
We found out that several times prior to July 3, 2009, the City of Sebastopol and Caltrans received complaints from residents that dark shadows from the large oak trees overhanging the north side of the intersection of Healdsburg Avenue and Florence Avenue made it impossible for westbound drivers to see pedestrians walking in the crosswalk.
City documents say that the crosswalk is within ½ a mile of 4 grade schools and Analy High School and is used regularly by those kids.
Before Julia’s accident, in 2007 the City and State receive complaints from a pedestrian who was severely injured when he was hit at 6:20 p.m. by a westbound driver in the same spot Julia would be.
He tells the City and Caltrans that the tree shadows make it impossible to see pedestrians or the crosswalk and that warning signs and flashing pedestrian warning signs are needed.
He complains about insufficient red curb markings, allowing cars to park so close that they block motorists’ view of pedestrians entering the crosswalk.
He complains about it needing a traffic signal.
He tells the same things to Caltrans several times in 2007and 2008.
In 2007 Caltrans investigates. Caltrans concludes, “observed shadow of tree does not fall on crosswalk."
But our experts show, with the accuracy of a 3D Laser scan of the intersection, that they do. For 6 months of the year. For several hours a day.
And Caltrans' photolog taken 4 months after their investigation show that they do.
Yet Caltrans’ inspection records show they forgot to do their yearly inspection of these trees for four years preceding Julia’s injury. And when they do inspect they never do it after 3 p.m. when the shadows exist.
So Caltrans concludes "no action recommended."
We meet a grade school teacher who lives 1 block from this crosswalk. She tells us that in the mid-2000's in the late afternoon when the tree shadows are covering the crosswalk, she and her young daughter were almost hit several times—including with a field trip of kindergarteners.
She too complains to the City several times about the dark shadows, closely parked vehicles and lack of any pedestrian warning signs.
Nothing is done.
We also learn that since 1995 residents complain to the City and State about Highway 116 crosswalks in Sebastopol, asking for posting of effective signs that will alert motorists to crosswalks, flashing lights, and additional red zones.
We find out that in July 2008, Caltrans issues a Work Order to install an advance pedestrian crossing warning sign for westbound drivers, 1 1/2 blocks before the Healdsburg/Florence crosswalk, "to increase awareness of drivers that they are approaching a pedestrian crossing..."
But they never install it.
Why not?
The Caltrans engineer testifies, "I don't know."
Meanwhile, Caltrans' accident records show that for the 4 years prior to Julia's injury, the crosswalk's injury accident rate is almost 5 times higher than the Statewide average.
But Caltrans' engineers say they never looked at that data when investigating the complaints.
Our hearts break when we discover City and Caltrans documents revealing that since 2001 the City Council plans to install warning signs, flashing signs, and to relocate the crosswalk where Julia would be hit outside of the tree shadows.
In 2005 the City even writes that the crosswalk has “known pedestrian safety problems”.
We read minutes and a Map of the crosswalk from a Safe Routes to School meeting in 2008 and 2009 before Julia is hit, where parents, students, teachers and school administrators tell the City and Caltrans that the Healdsburg/Florence crosswalk is a “difficult intersection” that would only be safe once planned safeguards were installed.
And then we see that in October 2008 the City Engineering Director and Police Chief agree the existing crosswalk "should be eliminated."
We also see that the City and Caltrans traffic engineers plan to install a traffic signal there since the 1990's to "improve safety."
Nothing is installed.
Then we discover that from 2004 to 2007 the City receives tax funds and grants of over $2.5 million dollars to fix dangerous crosswalks on Highway 116 in the City. This includes, by name, the crosswalk where Julia would be hit.
Instead, City documents show that the City uses this money to design landscaping, historical light posts—and other unconventional aesthetic improvements costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, to give a face-lift to their downtown.
For over 8 years, despite knowing it was a pedestrian safety problem, no fixes, not even quick fixes, are done at the Healdsburg/Florence crosswalk.
An advance pedestrian crossing warning sign, installed, costs about $150. Tree trimming would cost $2,500.
An expert highway safety engineer says that all the quick fixes for this crosswalk—trimming the trees, installing an advance warning sign or flashing pedestrian warning sign, and relocating the crosswalk—would have cost around $5000.
The City police department film a video driving westbound 24 hours after Julia is hit as part of their investigation. As they get close to the intersection one officer exclaims to the other, "See! You can barely see that guy!" He is referring to a pedestrian walking in the tree shadow next to the crosswalk entrance.
The City and Caltrans make all of these quick fixes.
After Julia is hit.
***
I have to say sadly that her life, mine and our family is changed forever. I am taking care of Julia full time. I sacrifice my whole business, my clients for her. As a horse trainer my income is very small. I am a single mother with no other resources. Julia’s dad earns very little as a butcher. I can’t work to support Julia without an attendant watching out for Julia and I can’t afford to pay an attendant. I am only able to work few hours when Julia is in therapy or in a program for brain injury patients.
Now we can’t afford even that therapy or program so Julia is with me 100% of the time. I give her all I have. Without some financial support it is hard to imagine a future for her. And when I think that someday I am not going to be around anymore and knowing all the care she needs, it is frightening what would happen to Julia. I spend nights crying thinking of that.
Julia is completely dependent on me. And I can only do so much by myself. I don’t know what to do. So I am reaching out to the community. I am reaching out to you for my dear daughter Julia. I believe in Julia. I believe in miracles.
I am asking you to please help Julia have some sort of a life. Any amount can make a difference.
On behalf of Julia, thank you and God bless.
Valerie Bertoli
She is an angel.
She is our miracle.
Julia was a sophmore in high school. She speaks French fluently, is a very skilled photographer, a beautiful illustrator and a nationally competing equestrian.
She volunteers her time helping others, from people on the street to nonprofit organizations supporting the most needy members of society. She is very popular with her peers because of her patience, her authentic and deep caring about their well being, her maturity, warmth, and hysterical sense of humor. Julia would light up a room when she enters. She is an old soul with so much to give.
That is who Julia was before July 3rd, 2009 at 6:12 p.m. But what happened on July 3rd, 2009 destroyed Julia and our family.
Julia, just 15 years old, was hit by a car while she was crossing the road in a marked crosswalk in the City of Sebastopol. The City and Caltrans knew this was a very dangerous crosswalk for years, because others had been seriously injured there and complained before Julia was hit.
I am raising money for Julia’s recovery and medical expenses. She needs intense therapy and 24 hour supervision. I need help to give her the right therapy and life she needs.
Julia has helped so many others before her injury. We hope you can help her now.
Here's Julia's story…
I remember that Friday, July 3, 2009 very well. Julia is very happy because she is visiting friends in Sebastopol to attend the July 3rd Music and Fireworks Festival. She was torn between going to the Giants game with me and her grandmother, and seeing her friends, because this is the last time she will see them before she flies to France Tuesday afternoon for a month-long visit with her grandmother.
According to the boys who were with her, Julia and her three 15 year old pals are on their way to the festivities at Analy High School.
Our experts show that the large oak trees overhanging the north side of the intersection cover Julia and the boys completely in shadow. They say for the driver it is like looking into an unlit tunnel on a bright sunny day.
Julia is on the north side of the crosswalk in the shadow, and enters the westbound lane, ahead of the 3 boys. The boys then enter.
A westbound silver Toyota is several hundred feet, over a block, away. It is even further away from Julia when Julia enters the crosswalk than it is when all three boys enter it after her.
An eastbound red pickup truck is stopping forJulia and her three friends to cross.
The boys told us what happened. They all say the same thing. They think it is safe to cross. They can see the westbound Toyota Corolla, still far away, and the driver's face looking straight towards Julia. The eastbound red truck is coming to a stop for them. They are in a marked crosswalk.
They don’t know the tree shadows are hiding them from the westbound drivers view. They all expect the driver can see them as well as they can see her. They have no idea they are invisible to the westbound driver from shadows. They aren't thinking about shadows because when you're in the shadows looking out you can see the cars in each direction.
It's not the same for the westbound driver though.
Here's what our expert's video shows from the driver's actual vehicle at the same time of day Julia was hit, 1 year later...
There are 4 pedestrians in the crosswalk in that video.
With the lack of advance pedestrian crossing warning signs or flashing pedestrian warning signs the westbound driver has no reason to expect or see pedestrians are crossing ahead.
All experts agree where Julia is. She is just 3 feet from completing her crossing of the westbound lane. After the westbound driver’s windshield passes into the tree shadows, she sees Julia for the first time.
The driver is just 32 feet away from Julia. She has no time to brake to stop. The driver says that she sees Julia is looking at her. Julia is frozen still.
The driver yanks her wheel all the way to the left to try to avoid hitting Julia and misses Taylor by 1 foot.
But Julia is 3 feet ahead of Taylor. And the vehicle is swerving left. So Julia would be hit if she stepped forward. And Julia would be hit if she stepped back as much as Taylor did. Julia is trapped.
The accident reconstruction experts say the front of the silver Toyota strikes Julia and Julia is flipped over the hood and her head hits the steeply angled windshield. The windshield shatters and Julia is propelled into the air, for 39 feet, landing head-first on the highway.
A hostess of a restaurant runs outside. When she gets to the driver she hears the driver say: “I didn’t see her. I didn’t see her.”
The restaurant hostess looks to the west and notices Julia’s body lying motionless on the roadway.
Several minutes later an ambulance arrives and rushes Julia to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Julia is in a coma. She soon stops breathing. Julia is unresponsive.
***
The doctors say that Julia arrives at SRMH with the least level of consciousness a person can have without being dead.
She has 2 brain surgeries in 24 hours.
This was the most horrible part, not knowing whether our daughter was going to live or die.
In the ICU Dr. Eichbaum tells us that Julia is most likely going to be a vegetable, if she even survives.
I collapsed onto the floor of the hospital.
But she did survive. And we are there with her every day, 24/7 in the ICU. Waiting, waiting for her to wake up.
2 months later, she opens her eyes. She slowly shows signs of response . But it’s not like in the movies. It’s slow. Very slow. And it quickly becomes apparent things are not going to be anything like they were...
The doctors say that even if she is waking up she will never be the same as before, her injury is too serious to be able to function.
Julia has a broken skull, broken lumbar spine, and her brain is so swollen they have to remove half of her skull to relieve the pressure. Half of her brain is literally outside of her skull for 4 months until the swelling subsides.
It is that horrible swelling that causes the damage to the left side and front of her brain.
She is transferred to Children’s Hospital Oakland for rehab for 4 months. She doesn't even know I am her mother anymore. She has to learn to eat, walk, speak, go to the bathroom. Her dad and I spend every day and night with her for months hoping to help her regain some function. The doctors and therapists are amazing. It is a slow process...
But she improves. The doctors say it is a miracle she survived and has the function she does with half a brain. But I know that Julia has always been our miracle.
As soon as she is able to, Julia tells me that she loves me. I knew then that some part of Julia is still there. The right side of the brain is the emotional side. Where all Julia’s loving nature was, and still is.
But the doctors say it won’t be easy. Over 1/3 of her brain is dead. They say she now has a 67 IQ. She can’t remember what is said 5 minutes later. She isn’t able to identify an apple if you hold it in front of her and ask her what it is.
She also has extreme physical pain and problems. She has right side paralysis, inability to walk for more than 2 blocks, and she drags her leg when she does. She needs an electronic device to help her pick up her leg for her.
Julia needs a supervised mobility scooter or wheel chair to go distances of more than a block.
She can't use her right hand and arm. She has problems with bladder control, difficulty swallowing, she doesn't sense hunger or fullness so won’t know when to eat or stop eating unless I tell her. She has seizures. She is deaf on the left side, partially blind in her right eye, she has no sense of smell, hypersensitivity to light, sound and touch.
She has no stamina, and she lacks balance and is prone to falls. In fact she fell recently and broke her ankle, which takes longer to heal because of her condition. She has crooked shoulders and unequal posture. Her lack of symmetry are going to cause degenerative bone changes without consistent therapy.
She has chronic pain on her right side, neck and back, severe migraines and head pressure on a daily basis.
Julia needs an attendant everywhere. She can't drive. She can't dress, feed, bathe or walk to the bathroom by herself.
Julia can't decide or plan things on her own. She is overwhelmed by simple tasks. She can't work and she can't go to school.
Julia has extreme fear of abandonment, even when I go into the other room she gets scared. Without an attendant she is at risk of being taken advantage of. She desperately wants someone to love. But is desperately alone.
And her brain makes things worse, because the damage to her frontal lobe impacts her ability to control her emotions. This causes obsessive compulsiveness, depression, suicidality, and even more hopelessness.
But the most horrific thing of all, is that despite her not being able to maintain a thought for more than a few minutes, Julia remembers bits of the girl she was before this happened to her. Her right side of her brain is still there.
She knows that she once spoke French fluently, was a skilled photographer, a beautiful illustrator and an accomplished equestrian. She remembers that she was a popular, adaptable, funny, well-traveled, mature and beautiful girl before she walked into that crosswalk on July 3, 2009. Even though she cannot remember who they are, she remembers that she had many friends who adore her. She remembers that she used to be a rock of support to everyone she knew.
And because she has difficulty forming new memories, every morning, when Julia wakes up, for a moment she thinks that’s who she still is. And every day, soon after waking she confronts the reality that she isn’t any of the things she was and is depending on others to do everything for her. The horrible reality hits her—and it hits her as if it was the first time, day after day after day.
Julia was such an "old soul" before this happened--a strong, confident shoulder for all of her friends and family to lean on.
Now she is socially isolated and can't even feed herself. She wants a boyfriend, she wants to go to college, to get a job, to be married, to have children. She wants what Julia used to want. She will never have any of those things. She wonders how her life can have meaning for her next expected 60 years like this.
***
But there is hope. For the past 5 years I have been taking Julia to therapy religiously, every week, to the extent we could afford it. And it is working.
The Brain Injury Network of the Bay Area is amazing. Physical, occupational, speech therapy. They are all patiently working with Julia. All of this therapy stimulates Julia to help her use the brain and body she has left. It is helping her to be as functional as she can. It is helping her to have some sort of a life. The emotional side of Julia's brain has taken over where the left side is gone. And a beautiful soul still exists and still has much to share with the world.
These therapies are expensive. And even more expensive is the cost of an attendant to make sure Julia is safe each day, and to give me time to work to support Julia. These are all out of pocket costs.
That is why we are humbly asking for your help of any amount.
***
Even more sad about Julia's injury is that the City and Caltrans knew about the danger at the crosswalk, had plans to deal with it, but delayed doing so.
We hired several leading experts in accident reconstruction, biomechanics, driver and pedestrian behavior and traffic engineering to analyze what happened, as well as gathered testimony from all eyewitnesses within hours of Julia’s accident.
We found out that several times prior to July 3, 2009, the City of Sebastopol and Caltrans received complaints from residents that dark shadows from the large oak trees overhanging the north side of the intersection of Healdsburg Avenue and Florence Avenue made it impossible for westbound drivers to see pedestrians walking in the crosswalk.
City documents say that the crosswalk is within ½ a mile of 4 grade schools and Analy High School and is used regularly by those kids.
Before Julia’s accident, in 2007 the City and State receive complaints from a pedestrian who was severely injured when he was hit at 6:20 p.m. by a westbound driver in the same spot Julia would be.
He tells the City and Caltrans that the tree shadows make it impossible to see pedestrians or the crosswalk and that warning signs and flashing pedestrian warning signs are needed.
He complains about insufficient red curb markings, allowing cars to park so close that they block motorists’ view of pedestrians entering the crosswalk.
He complains about it needing a traffic signal.
He tells the same things to Caltrans several times in 2007and 2008.
In 2007 Caltrans investigates. Caltrans concludes, “observed shadow of tree does not fall on crosswalk."
But our experts show, with the accuracy of a 3D Laser scan of the intersection, that they do. For 6 months of the year. For several hours a day.
And Caltrans' photolog taken 4 months after their investigation show that they do.
Yet Caltrans’ inspection records show they forgot to do their yearly inspection of these trees for four years preceding Julia’s injury. And when they do inspect they never do it after 3 p.m. when the shadows exist.
So Caltrans concludes "no action recommended."
We meet a grade school teacher who lives 1 block from this crosswalk. She tells us that in the mid-2000's in the late afternoon when the tree shadows are covering the crosswalk, she and her young daughter were almost hit several times—including with a field trip of kindergarteners.
She too complains to the City several times about the dark shadows, closely parked vehicles and lack of any pedestrian warning signs.
Nothing is done.
We also learn that since 1995 residents complain to the City and State about Highway 116 crosswalks in Sebastopol, asking for posting of effective signs that will alert motorists to crosswalks, flashing lights, and additional red zones.
We find out that in July 2008, Caltrans issues a Work Order to install an advance pedestrian crossing warning sign for westbound drivers, 1 1/2 blocks before the Healdsburg/Florence crosswalk, "to increase awareness of drivers that they are approaching a pedestrian crossing..."
But they never install it.
Why not?
The Caltrans engineer testifies, "I don't know."
Meanwhile, Caltrans' accident records show that for the 4 years prior to Julia's injury, the crosswalk's injury accident rate is almost 5 times higher than the Statewide average.
But Caltrans' engineers say they never looked at that data when investigating the complaints.
Our hearts break when we discover City and Caltrans documents revealing that since 2001 the City Council plans to install warning signs, flashing signs, and to relocate the crosswalk where Julia would be hit outside of the tree shadows.
In 2005 the City even writes that the crosswalk has “known pedestrian safety problems”.
We read minutes and a Map of the crosswalk from a Safe Routes to School meeting in 2008 and 2009 before Julia is hit, where parents, students, teachers and school administrators tell the City and Caltrans that the Healdsburg/Florence crosswalk is a “difficult intersection” that would only be safe once planned safeguards were installed.
And then we see that in October 2008 the City Engineering Director and Police Chief agree the existing crosswalk "should be eliminated."
We also see that the City and Caltrans traffic engineers plan to install a traffic signal there since the 1990's to "improve safety."
Nothing is installed.
Then we discover that from 2004 to 2007 the City receives tax funds and grants of over $2.5 million dollars to fix dangerous crosswalks on Highway 116 in the City. This includes, by name, the crosswalk where Julia would be hit.
Instead, City documents show that the City uses this money to design landscaping, historical light posts—and other unconventional aesthetic improvements costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, to give a face-lift to their downtown.
For over 8 years, despite knowing it was a pedestrian safety problem, no fixes, not even quick fixes, are done at the Healdsburg/Florence crosswalk.
An advance pedestrian crossing warning sign, installed, costs about $150. Tree trimming would cost $2,500.
An expert highway safety engineer says that all the quick fixes for this crosswalk—trimming the trees, installing an advance warning sign or flashing pedestrian warning sign, and relocating the crosswalk—would have cost around $5000.
The City police department film a video driving westbound 24 hours after Julia is hit as part of their investigation. As they get close to the intersection one officer exclaims to the other, "See! You can barely see that guy!" He is referring to a pedestrian walking in the tree shadow next to the crosswalk entrance.
The City and Caltrans make all of these quick fixes.
After Julia is hit.
***
I have to say sadly that her life, mine and our family is changed forever. I am taking care of Julia full time. I sacrifice my whole business, my clients for her. As a horse trainer my income is very small. I am a single mother with no other resources. Julia’s dad earns very little as a butcher. I can’t work to support Julia without an attendant watching out for Julia and I can’t afford to pay an attendant. I am only able to work few hours when Julia is in therapy or in a program for brain injury patients.
Now we can’t afford even that therapy or program so Julia is with me 100% of the time. I give her all I have. Without some financial support it is hard to imagine a future for her. And when I think that someday I am not going to be around anymore and knowing all the care she needs, it is frightening what would happen to Julia. I spend nights crying thinking of that.
Julia is completely dependent on me. And I can only do so much by myself. I don’t know what to do. So I am reaching out to the community. I am reaching out to you for my dear daughter Julia. I believe in Julia. I believe in miracles.
I am asking you to please help Julia have some sort of a life. Any amount can make a difference.
On behalf of Julia, thank you and God bless.
Valerie Bertoli
Organizer and beneficiary
david Rouda
Beneficiary