Investigators revealed that about 20 minutes after hitting Hernandez-Mendoza, Kolarsky entered his workplace at a nearby hospital.
PORTLAND, Ore. — On Tuesday, a Portland physician received a prison sentence for a fatal hit-and-run incident that occurred in December 2024.
Kenneth Kolarsky, aged 59, was sentenced by a Marion County judge to 13 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. This came after Kolarsky pleaded guilty to attempting to evade his responsibilities as a driver involved in an injury accident.
On December 26, as Kolarsky was commuting to work, he struck Nicolas Hernandez-Mendoza, who was crossing North Pacific Highway near Williams Avenue in Woodburn. Before the collision, Hernandez-Mendoza had activated the crosswalk safety lights, which are intended to warn drivers of pedestrians ahead.
Following the collision, Kolarsky paused briefly, maneuvered around the injured Hernandez-Mendoza, and then left the scene, according to the prosecutor’s account.
Officers found Hernandez-Mendoza in the road. He was transported to a Salem hospital, where he died during emergency surgery. He had suffered a fractured cervical vertebra and a fractured pelvis. Surgeons were unable to stop internal bleeding from his spleen.
Investigators determined that approximately 20 minutes after striking Hernandez-Mendoza, Kolarsky walked into Legacy Silverton Medical Center Hospital, where he worked as an emergency room physician with Northwest Acute Care Specialists.
“Regardless of why the accident occurred, to leave a scene after striking someone with your vehicle is a callous disregard for human life” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Brendan Murphy. “That’s intolerable, and especially offensive when it is committed by a professional who takes an oath to ‘do no harm’”
Woodburn police arrested Kolarsky on May 17, 2025. The prosecutor’s office said charges were limited to the hit-and-run because there was “insufficient evidence” to determine whether the crash itself was criminal.
During sentencing, Judge Courtland Geyer said Kolarsky left “a community member fallen and in the dark” and acted with an “absence of dignity,” according to the prosecutor’s office.
Legacy Silverton Medical Center contracts with NACS to staff its emergency rooms. At the time of the crash, the president of NACS said Kolarsky had been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.