CHP: Suspect arrested in deadly Bay Area hit-and-run in 2018
More than a year after a deadly hit-and-run crash in Marin, authorities have charged a Ventura County man with the crime.
Frank Anthony Barone Jr., a Moorpark resident with North Bay ties, was identified as the suspect after a lengthy investigation by the California Highway Patrol.
Barone is accused of leaving the scene on March 26, 2018, after striking motorcyclist Marie Siegenthaler on Highway 101 near East Blithedale Avenue in Mill Valley. Siegenthaler, 29, was riding home to San Francisco after visiting her family in Fairfax.
The CHP was able to link Barone to the collision through crash debris and an “outpouring of support and tips” from the public, Officer Andrew Barclay said Thursday.
“Through our investigation, we located a 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe with damage consistent with the collision and the missing pieces located on scene,” Barclay said.
The CHP recently referred the case to the Marin County District Attorney’s Office. The prosecution filed a felony hit-and-run charge and a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter.
Authorities obtained an arrest warrant with a bail amount of $150,000. Barone, 31, was booked into the Marin County Jail and released on bond while the case proceeds.
Barone appeared in Marin County Superior Court on May 2 and pleaded not guilty.
His defense attorney, Charles Dresow, declined to comment on the case.
Authorities have not released additional details about the investigative work leading to Barone. The prosecution obtained a court order sealing the affidavits in the case.
District Attorney Lori Frugoli did not respond to an inquiry about the rationale for the sealing.
Connie Siegenthaler, the victim’s mother, credited the CHP for its handling of the investigation.
“They just have been really supportive,” she said Thursday. “They have just been very human and very patient.”
The crash happened at about 9:30 p.m. Siegenthaler said her daughter had worked her shift at the Good Earth Natural Foods market in Tamalpais Valley, then had dinner with family in Fairfax. After dinner, she went to the movies with a brother and sister.
When Marie Siegenthaler left for home, her brother rode his motorcycle to her apartment as well. But they became separated on the highway, and he thought his sister had gone on ahead.
When he reached San Francisco and discovered his sister was not at her apartment, he looped back to find her. He saw police and fire vehicles on the highway and learned his sister had been killed.
“Nothing’s going to make me feel better,” Connie Siegenthaler said. “I just hope there’s some justice for her, and for us.”
She said her daughter, who had applied to a graduate school program in scientific illustration, received an acceptance letter shortly after her death.