Petaluma man found dead in street identified

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office has identified a man who was found dead in the middle of a Petaluma street Saturday night as Charles Ralph Kauffman Jr., 53, of Petaluma.

Kauffman’s body was found by a passing motorist around 11:40 p.m. Saturday in the northbound lanes of McDowell Boulevard north of Scott Street, Petaluma police Lt. Tim Lyons said.

The passing motorist was trying to revive Kauffman, who was deceased. Kauffman’s 2014 Mazda Miata was still running with the driver’s door open in the No. 1 southbound lane of McDowell Boulevard and parts of another vehicle were found just north of his body, Lyons said.

It appears the vehicle struck Kauffman and then left the scene, but police do not know if the driver was aware he had struck Kauffman, Lyons said.

Police are trying to identify the make and model of the vehicle parts found in the road, and are reviewing surveillance video from businesses in the area, Lyons said.