Woman guilty in fatal hit-and-run

A Fort Bragg woman was found guilty this week of fleeing the scene of a crash that killed a man skateboarding near Mendocino more than two years ago, the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office reported.

According to DA David Eyster’s spokesman Mike Geniella, Gina R. Bean, 43, of Fort

Bragg, was found guilty Thursday by Superior Court Judge Ann Moorman of “leaving the scene of an accident resulting in the death of another person, a felony.”

According to the California Highway Patrol, officers responded to the intersection of Highway 1 and Little Lake Road near the village of Mendocino around 10:50 p.m. on July 18, 2019, when it was reported that a man riding a skateboard across the highway had been hit by a vehicle that then left the scene.

Officers determined that the vehicle was heading north on

Hwy. 1 when the front-end hit the pedestrian, who was later identified as 21-year-old Calum (Hunnicutt) Pulido. Pulido died as a result of his injuries, and the driver of the vehicle left the scene before CHP officers arrived.

Months later, the CHP reported that “after a vigorous and thorough investigation,” it had identified two suspects and arrest warrants were submitted for the suspected driver, Bean, and her “co-conspirator,” Ricky F. Santos, 36.

Officers located Santos after first unsuccessfully trying to locate Bean at the home of her father in Fort Bragg. After talking with Bean’s father, officers then located Santos in Mendocino and placed him under arrest on suspicion of “aiding a principal wanted in a felony.” He was booked into Mendocino County Jail.

The criminal charges against Bean accused her of failing to “stop, render aid, or notify law enforcement of an accident on Highway 1 at the intersection with Little Lake Road. ” According to Geniella, court proceedings in the case “were delayed

for a year because of a variety of reasons including Covid-19 restrictions (before) Bean and her private attorney waived her right to a jury trial and agreed to be tried before Judge Moorman.”

Bean reportedly testified on her own behalf during the trial that began Sept. 20, and after final arguments were given

Tuesday, Judge Moorman reportedly announced the guilty verdict Thursday.

Bean is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 3, and faces up to four years in state prison. With credits, Geniella noted, “Bean could serve between 45 and 180 actual days in jail.”

He also explained that “Judge Moorman found co-defendant Ricky Faustino Santos, 37, also of Fort Bragg, was not guilty of being an accessory after the fact. Santos faces no further court proceedings.