Suspect in June hit-and-run bike fatality in custody

Perhaps the restless spirit of Adrian Albert can find some peace after all, following the court appearance of a woman on Friday, Oct. 2, for the hit-and-run killing of the 35-year old environmentalist in early June.

Nancy J. Serrano, 26, of Santa Rosa, has been in Sonoma County’s Main Adult Detention facility since she was booked on Sept. 4. She has been unable to meet the $125,000 bail, as one of the charges is a felony hit-and-run. The other charges against her, all misdemeanors, include a disturbing the peace charge for using offensive words in a public place, which “are inherently likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction”; driving with a suspended license, and vehicular manslaughter while driving.

Her next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 6.

But for friends and family of Albert, it was a bittersweet denouement to an extended period of mourning, loss and frustration – beginning with the collision itself, as the victim was not carrying any identification and the Sonoma County coroner’s office could not release his name until his family had been contacted – and they live in Romania.

Albert had been living and working in Sonoma earlier this year, though his primary U.S. residence at the time was in Kensington. He was co-founder of a tech start-up called Terrafuse, researching ways to predict the location of future wildfires.

Shortly after 8 p.m. on Sunday evening, June 7, Albert was riding a road bike along Highway 12 near the BR Cohn winery when he was struck from behind by a light-colored pickup truck. The weather was clear and dry, and given the time of year there was plenty of light – the sun sets after 8:30 p.m. in early June.

The impact threw him off the road and he died at the scene. The CHP and Sonoma County Sheriff’s office investigated the incident but initially were unable to locate either the vehicle or its driver. The truck was later found in nearby Agua Caliente, but the driver was not apprehended for several weeks while an investigation was conducted.

“Adrian loved the Sonoma landscape, wilderness and community and had moved there from San Francisco in hopes of finding a permanent place in Sonoma to settle longer term,” said Grace Lin, who said they had been dating for seven months prior to his death. “Part of the reason why he moved to Sonoma was because he loved to ride his bike and wanted to bike someplace he thought would be safe.”

Albert’s work would have come in handy this fall. Terrafuse was building a machine-learning tool for wildfire prediction. “One of his motivations to lead this venture was so that residents of Sonoma and surrounding areas would have access to fire insurance to protect their homes as many insurance companies had difficulty evaluating the risk and would no longer provide fire insurance after the recent forest fires,” said Lin.

Following his death, a tribute was held on June 24 via Google in Petaluma for his California-based friends. Alex Harbour of Powerhouse, an investment company, said, “As investors, we see a multitude of intelligent people building businesses around incredible technology, brilliance or sheer passion. Adrian was one of the rare individuals who was doing all three."

Dzhelil Rufat, a friend from Stanford, described Albert as “a great hiking buddy.“

“Always high in spirits, very intelligent, and with plenty of topics to talk about while walking in the wilderness,” said Rufat. “Back in 2018 we decided to go for what was supposed to be a short hike, but in fact we ended up climbing the highest point in the contiguous United States.”

Another Stanford colleague, Sabrina Alistar, said, “He is remembered fondly by his many friends and colleagues for his unwavering determination, work ethic, brilliant intellect, patient kindness and goofy sense of humor. He was an awesome person.”

“Adrian cared deeply about tackling society’s hardest problems and lifting up the people around him,” said Hunter Connell, a Sonoma native and co-executive at Terrafuse. She added, “Adrian loved high quality pastries. He would not settle for cafes with mediocre pastries.”

It was Connell who started a Gofundme page to raise money to return his body to his parents in Romania. Over 560 donors raised $50,5023 in the campaign, and he was buried in Iasi, a university city in eastern Romania in mid-July.

Lin wrote at the time, “While we have had to dress a dead body, listen to the shrieks and crying of his mother and grandmother, and see our friend's lifeless body in a casket — the killer was enjoying the July 4th holiday without consequence.”

But the investigation to locate the driver of the light-colored truck apparently stalled. Second-hand information suggested the truck had been located in Agua Caliente, and sheriff’s investigators were searching it for information about the owner or driver. Marc Renspurger, of the Napa CHP, which investigates automotive accidents, said on June 23, “We are making progress but I cannot comment on any possible suspect or suspects at this time.”

Three weeks later, on July 15, he said, “The investigation has been submitted to the Sonoma DA and is in their hands.”

In August, the DA’s trail finally led to Serrano, and a warrant was issued for her arrest on Aug. 27. She was booked Sept. 4 on the charges related to the collision, her flight and the death of Adrian Albert. Presiding was Judge Mark A. Urioste.

The arraignment on Oct. 2 was conducted in a closed courtroom with Zoom audio access only for the public. According to Lin, who listened to the proceedings, “you could hear that she (Serrano) had hit him in broad daylight, did not stop, abandoned her pick-up truck, and wiped her phone that day.”

Serrano remains in custody; sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 6.

Email Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.