Oregon emergency room doctor sentenced to prison after hit-and-run

An Oregon emergency room physician was sentenced to prison on Tuesday after hitting a man with his car and leaving him for dead.

Kenneth Kolarsky, 59, was sentenced to 13 months in prison and three years of post-prison supervision for a 2024 hit-and-run, the Marion County District Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday.

On the evening of December 26, 2024, Kolarsky struck Nicolas Hernandez-Mendoza with his car as Hernandez-Mendoza crossed North Pacific Highway in Woodburn, Oregon. Kolarsky stopped briefly, drove around the unconscious man and fled, prosecutors said.

Hernandez-Mendoza was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fracture of the cervical vertebra and pelvic fractures. He died during emergency surgery after surgeons were unable to control internal bleeding from his spleen.

Kolarsky was driving to his shift at Silverton Hospital from his Portland-area home when he struck Hernandez-Mendoza. Surveillance footage shows him arriving at the hospital roughly 20 minutes later. He was arrested last year and pleaded guilty to attempted failure to perform the duties of a driver to an injured person.

Investigators built their case by collecting footage from dozens of nearby businesses and residences to identify the license plate, make and model of Kolarsky’s vehicle.

Prosecutors noted Wednesday that charges were “limited to Kolarsky leaving the scene” and that there was “insufficient evidence to conclude that the collision itself was the result of criminal activity.”

“Regardless of why the accident occurred, to leave a scene after striking someone with your vehicle is a callous disregard for human life.” Chief Deputy District Attorney Brendan Murphy said in a statement. “That’s intolerable, and especially offensive when it is committed by a professional who takes an oath to ‘do no harm.’”

A GoFundMe campaign started by Hernandez-Mendoza’s daughter, Kimberly Hernandez, sought funds to return her father’s body to Mexico. It is unclear whether that wish was fulfilled.

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