In a shocking incident, an emergency room doctor from Oregon hit a pedestrian who was crossing the street, opting to drive around the injured man to begin his hospital shift, leaving the victim bleeding on the pavement.
Kenneth Kolarsky, aged 59, received a 13-month prison sentence on May 11, in addition to 36 months of post-prison supervision. This sentence followed his guilty plea to the charge of attempted failure to fulfill a driver’s duties towards an injured person, as detailed in a release from the Marion County District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors shared that Kolarsky, who works as an ER doctor, was heading to his job on North Pacific Highway on the night of December 26, 2024, when Nicolas Hernandez-Mendoza tried to cross the street at a crosswalk equipped with safety lights.
After hitting Hernandez-Mendoza, Kolarsky briefly stopped before maneuvering around the unconscious man and fleeing the scene. Surveillance footage captured him entering Silverton Hospital to commence his emergency room duties just 20 minutes later, according to prosecutors.
Hernandez-Mendoza was subsequently transported to Salem Hospital, enduring a fractured cervical vertebra and broken pelvis. Tragically, he passed away during emergency surgery as doctors could not stem the spleen bleeding.
Prosecutors said Hernandez-Mendoza was taken to Salem Hospital after suffering a fracture to his cervical vertebra and fractures to his pelvis. He died during emergency surgery after surgeons were unable to stop the bleeding from his spleen.
Kenneth Kolarsky Arrested After He Was Identified Through Surveillance Footage
After reviewing surveillance footage from area businesses and homes, Kolarsky was arrested on May 17, 2025, authorities said.
According to prosecutors, he was only charged with leaving the scene of the accident because 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 remarked in the statement. “That’s intolerable, and especially offensive when it is committed by a professional who takes an oath to ‘do no harm.’”
While arguing for a sentence of 18 months behind bars, prosecutors said Kolarsky tried to repair his vehicle by paying in cash and showed “dishonesty” throughout the investigation.
Judge Courtland Geyer opted to sentence Kolarsky to 13 months behind bars after noting he showed an “absence of dignity” by leaving “a community member fallen and in the dark,” prosecutors said.
Nicolas Hernandez-Mendoza’s Daughter Shares Family’s Grief
Hernandez-Mendoza’s daughter Kimberly Hernandez told KPTV that her father died before he ever had a chance to meet his newborn grandson Emilio.
“What hurts the most,” she said, “is he never got to see his grandson because the accident happened a couple of days before they were gonna meet.”
Hernandez—who started a GoFundMe to raise funds to return her father’s body to Mexico— said his death was even more difficult to accept knowing that Kolarsky had the knowledge to help her dad, but chose not to.
“This is someone we’re supposed to trust and sometimes put our lives in his hands, and in that moment, I think he had my dad’s life in his hands but he just made the wrong choice,” she told the news outlet. “I could have my father right now.”