A Tragic Incident Involving a Physician and a Fatal Hit-and-Run
In a disturbing case that has shocked the community, a physician was involved in a hit-and-run incident that resulted in the death of a man. The incident occurred in Woodburn, Oregon, in December 2024, when Kenneth Kolarsky, a 59-year-old emergency room doctor from Portland, struck 44-year-old Nicolas ‘Niko’ Hernandez-Mendoza. After the collision, Kolarsky fled the scene, leaving the victim lying in the roadway with severe injuries.
Hernandez-Mendoza suffered extensive internal bleeding near his spine and was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to the hospital. Surveillance footage captured Kolarsky entering his workplace just 20 minutes after the incident, where he worked as a pediatric emergency medicine physician.
The court heard that Kolarsky had left the scene of the accident, which prosecutors described as an act of “callous disregard for human life.” On Tuesday, Kolarsky was sentenced to more than a year in prison, following a guilty plea to attempted failure to perform the duties of a driver to an injured person. Judge Courtland Geyer of Marion Circuit Court emphasized the severity of the act, calling it an “absence of dignity.”
Kimberly Hernandez, the victim’s daughter, expressed her grief during the sentencing. She said, “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 added, “I could have my father right now.”
The incident took place on December 26, 2024, when police responded to a hit-and-run report on a highway in Woodburn. They found Hernandez-Mendoza unresponsive in the road. It was later discovered that the father had activated the crosswalk safety lights as he stepped into the street, just seconds before being struck by Kolarsky’s vehicle.
Prosecutors stated that Kolarsky had just left his home in a light-colored SUV and was heading west to Legacy Silverton Medical Center, where he worked, when the fatal incident occurred. According to the statement, Kolarsky stopped the vehicle, drove around the unconscious body of the victim in the roadway, and then fled the scene.
Hernandez-Mendoza was still alive when Kolarsky drove away. He was taken to Salem Hospital, where doctors discovered a broken neck and pelvis, along with heavy internal bleeding from his spleen. Despite efforts by doctors, he died during emergency surgery as they were unable to stop the bleeding.
Kolarsky was arrested on May 17, 2024, outside his workplace. His charges were limited to the hit-and-run, with the district attorney’s office stating there was “insufficient evidence” to conclude the crash itself was criminal. However, prosecutors highlighted Kolarsky’s alleged attempt to repair his vehicle following the incident and his “dishonesty in the investigation,” although details of the claim were not specified.
“The defendant had no prior criminal history and had a presumptive prison sentence of 16 to 18 months in the Department of Corrections,” the statement read.
Legacy Silverton Medical Center has a contract with Northwest Acute Care Specialists (NACS) to staff its emergency rooms. At the time of the crash, the NACS president confirmed Kolarsky had been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation’s outcome.
Hernandez-Mendoza’s daughter launched a GoFundMe page to help bring his body back to his hometown in Mexico. She shared that they were able to get her father to the place where he was born and at least have his parents, her grandparents, see him one last time. She said that from morning until night, there was always joyful music playing throughout the home. “I want my father to be remembered for his love of the arts,” she added.
