Napa girl wanders away, is killed by hit-run driver

A hit-and-run driver struck and killed a 2 1/2-year-old girl who somehow ended up alone outside her family's Napa apartment before dawn, police said today.

Mattea Reynolds was found unconscious near the curb of Old Sonoma Road before 6 a.m. Saturday by a worker at the nearby county juvenile hall. The girl was pronounced dead at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa.

At least two witnesses saw the girl walking alone about 5:15 a.m. but did not immediately go to her aid, police said. One of the witnesses told the juvenile hall worker who was walking in the area, then left the scene.

Mattea's mother and other relatives live on Oran Court, two blocks from where the girl was found. Police said the family telephoned police to report Mattea missing at 5:26 a.m. and said she may have wandered away.

As officers responded to the area, the juvenile hall employee made her discovery, police Cmdr. Andy Lewis said.

The other witness who saw the girl told authorities that a car drove east on Old Sonoma Road, which is on the east side of Highway 29, around the time Mattea was hit.

The car was described only as a white American-model sedan from the 1980s, with four doors and chrome trim on the sides, Lewis said.

Police also are looking for the woman who alerted the juvenile hall employee to the child's presence on Old Sonoma Road. The woman was dressed in a navy blue or black windbreaker and dark pants and carried a lunch box or bag.

Anyone with information is asked to call police Detective Don Winegar at (707) 258-7879.