By KATHERINE PETERSEN
A 55-year-old Sunnyvale man who was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bicycle on Feb. 21 remains in critical condition at San Jose Medical Center, according to the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety.
The man had recently added lights to his bicycle to prevent an accident.
Rafael Mata Villalobos Sr. was riding north on Mathilda Avenue, just north of San Aleso Avenue, at about 5:41 a.m. when he was hit by an unknown vehicle, said Lt. Martin Wright.
Wright said Villalobos apparently was riding on the shoulder of the road when the vehicle that was overtaking him slammed into the back of his bicycle on the rain-slick street.
The vehicle knocked Villalobos off his bike, and he probably landed on the hood or the windshield before he was launched face-first onto the east sidewalk of Mathilda, Wright said.
Villalobos suffered multiple skull fractures and underwent six hours of surgery on Feb. 22 to try to relieve pressure on his brain caused by bleeding, said Daniel Ross, administrative supervisor at San Jose Medical Center. At presstime, Ross said that it was still too early to tell whether Villalobos will survive.
Villalobos was not wearing a bicycle helmet at the time of the accident, but he was wearing a hat with a light on its back. He was following through on a suggestion from Officer Vinnie Mata, who had stopped Villalobos a week earlier and advised him to put lights on his bike.
Mata recognized Villalobos when he responded to an anonymous tip about the accident.
Wright said the rain made it difficult to gather evidence from the scene because officers could not identify skid marks.
Anyone with information regarding this accident should call Public Safety at (408) 730-7109.
Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, February 28, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.