Colfax pedestrian suffers numerous injuries after hit and run on Main Street

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX — Tragedy struck Colfax around 5:30 a.m. Friday when Linda Salazar, owner of Mom’s Restaurant and Pub, was struck by a passing motor vehicle as she crossed Main Street on her way to the restaurant.

Salazar suffered numerous broken bones and internal injuries and is hospitalized in critical condition at a hospital in Eau Claire.

According to Facebook postings by her daughter, Angie Winslow, Salazar has ten broken ribs, an arm broken above and below the elbow, a subdural hematoma on her brain, face lacerations, a broken pelvis, a bruise on her liver, a bruised lung, a broken leg and a broken ankle.

The driver who struck Salazar left the scene of the accident.

According to Dunn County Sheriff Dennis Smith, the sheriff’s department received a call about the hit and run accident at 5:36 a.m. Friday.

About a half hour later, the driver of the vehicle that struck Salazar, Jami Golden, age 37, of Colfax, returned to the scene of the accident because she “thought she had hit something,” Sheriff Smith said.

Golden’s vehicle had been southbound on state Highway 40 when Salazar was struck while crossing Main Street, he said.

Deputies found a driver’s side mirror and a cap from the bumper in the street, Sheriff Smith said.

Golden was taken into custody and has been charged with operating a motor vehicle without insurance; being involved in a hit and run accident causing great bodily harm; failure to notify police of an accident; and obstructed driver’s vision, which was due to frost on the car windows, he said.

Deputies conducted a field sobriety test, and a blood draw was done at 7:40 a.m., Sheriff Smith said, although no information was available as to whether Golden would be charged with Operating While Intoxicated.

By the time deputies arrived, the Colfax Rescue Squad was already loading Salazar into the ambulance, Sheriff Smith noted.

As of 4 p.m. Monday, Golden remained in custody at the Dunn County Jail on a probation hold.

“I’ve eaten at Mom’s dozens of times. Linda always comes and talks to us. She’s such a nice lady,” Sheriff Smith said.

Salazar’s daughters, Patti Houser and Angie Winslow, have vowed to keep Mom’s Restaurant and Pub open while their mother is recuperating from her injuries.

Mom’s has typically been open seven days a week, but because of the nature of their mother’s injuries, Houser and Winslow say they are planning to close the restaurant on Wednesdays for the time being.

“We’re going to be closed on Wednesdays until we can get this squared away. It won’t be permanent, just until we get things under control,” Houser said.

“I want people to know that we apologize for having to close the restaurant. We will do our best and please bear with us,” she said.

Houser said when she first saw her mother at the hospital, the look of panic on Salazar’s face spoke volumes.

“I knew what she was thinking. ‘It’s Friday, and we have a lot of work to do,’” Houser said.

At that point, Houser said she and Winslow realized that keeping the restaurant open “is the best thing we can do for her. It’s the best thing we can do to help her rest and recover.”

According to Winslow’s Facebook postings, Salazar was expected to undergo surgery again on Tuesday to work on repairing her arm.

A Go Fund Me page has been set up on the Internet at www.gofundme.com/lindas-medical-and-recovery-fund.

As of 4 p.m. Monday, a total of $2,485 had been raised toward a goal of $100,000 for Salazar’s medical expenses.

According to the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website, Golden pleaded guilty to manufacturing and delivering methamphetamine in Dunn County Circuit Court in May of 2014.

Judge Rod Smeltzer sentenced Golden to nine months in jail and placed her on four years of probation in September of 2014.