A woman killed Sunday as she made her way on foot across northbound Highway 101 in Santa Barbara was incorrectly identified Tuesday by the California Highway Patrol as another woman.

The CHP on Tuesday incorrectly said the woman struck by a Toyota 4Runner near Garden Street was 42-year-old Elizabeth Anne Vallejo of Santa Maria and Lompoc.

However, CHP said Wednesday that Vallejo is still alive and, though officials now know the dead woman's real identity, her name will not be released until her relatives are notified.

Santa Barbara County sheriff's Sgt. Erik Raney said Wednesday that the 38-year-old woman who died is believed to be homeless woman who was living in the Santa Barbara area.

Raney said the mix-up happened when CHP officers called the sheriff's department to obtain the name of the person killed, and the sheriff's department gave the CHP their preliminary, unverified assessment.

The CHP mistakenly released the name to the media before the coroner had completed the identification process, Raney said.

“I think it was an innocent sort of mistake,” he added. ... “We work very closely with the CHP on traffic-related deaths that fall under their jurisdiction, and this was obviously a miscommunication.”

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The woman's identity was discovered through fingerprints, he said.

The incorrect identification was made because Vallejo and the decedent had similar facial features and characteristics, according to the CHP.

CHP Officer Don Clotworthy said that accidents in which vehicles strike pedestrians can cause significant injuries, which can increase the likelihood of misidentification.

“A lot of times there's some major trauma to these individuals, and occasionally dismemberment,” he said.

Clotworthy added that often members of the homeless community try to avoid being known, and may not carry identification.

“I don't personally think that it happens very often, but it's nothing that I don't think any of us are going to be incredibly upset about because it's a difficult task,” he said of the misidentification.

Anthony Russo, 21, of Riverside was driving a 1999 Toyota 4Runner about 2:30 a.m. Sunday when the woman, who was crossing the northbound lanes of Highway 101, was struck by the vehicle, according to the CHP.

Russo was unable to see her before impact, the CHP said. The woman died at the scene, and Russo, who was the only person in the vehicle, was uninjured.

The results of a toxicology test conducted on the decedent were not yet available Wednesday, and the incident remained under investigation.

Samantha Yale can be reached at 739-2159 or syale@santamariatimes.com.

August 23, 2007