Foster City Woman Facing Hit-and-Run Charges for Non-Injury Crash Involving 11-Year-Old Girl

Prosecutors have filed criminal charges against a Foster City woman for allegedly fleeing the scene of a .

Jenny Quan, 44, was charged with misdemeanor hit and run for driving away from the scene of a non-injury accident involving a cyclist on her way to Bowditch Middle School on Nov. 1.

Quan is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 21 for a pretrial conference in the chambers of a San Mateo superior court judge.

She faces up to six months in jail.

Quan was driving a black Toyota Prius through the intersection of Marlin Avenue and Foster City Boulevard when the girl, who was riding her bike in the crosswalk, clipped Quan’s car, police said. The collision knocked the bicycle out from under the girl but caused no damage to her bike.

According to a witness, Quan failed to make a good faith effort to determine if the girl was injured, Deputy District Attorney Karen Guidotti told Patch.

“Driving off was not the responsible thing to do,” Guidotti said.

A vehicle description and partial license plate provided by witnesses helped police locate Quan.

Quan’s attorney, Thomas Greenberg, disputes the district attorney’s account of the events that followed the accident.

“(Quan) did get out of the car and the girl took off,” Greenberg said.

“How long was she supposed to wait around,” Greenberg said. “The girl wasn’t going to come back. She rode off. She wasn’t injured.”

School officials sent the girl home, apparently shaken by the collision, police said.

“Obviously there was some mental anguish,” Foster City Police Capt. Jon Froomin told Patch shortly after the case was referred to the district attorney’s office for review in November.

“She’s very young and it has to be a significant incident in her life.”

Greenberg described his client as a “hard-working woman with no (criminal) record” who’s anguished by the ordeal.

“Of course it’s painful” for her, he said.

But prosecutors say Quan’s behavior in the immediate aftermath of the accident violated any sense of “common decency and the law.”

Guidotti acknowledged that the girl’s age was a factor in the district attorney’s decision to pursue a criminal prosecution.

“It certainly played into it,” she said.

Greenberg insists that Quan followed the spirit and the letter of the law, making a good faith effort to determine the girl was OK. He said if anyone broke the law, it was the girl, who was illegally riding her bike in the crosswalk.

“My client couldn’t have contacted her,” Greeberg said. “When a bicyclist hits your car and takes off I don’t believe you have a duty to chase the person down.”

Greenberg said he’s hopeful the case can be resolved at next month’s pretrial conference.

“We’d like to see the charges be dismissed,” he said.

“I’m hoping this case can be resolved amicably. Of course we hope (the girl is) OK and if there are any damages to the girl’s bike (Quan) wants to take care of it.”