An Oregon emergency room physician has been sentenced to prison after prosecutors said he struck a pedestrian with his vehicle and fled the scene while on his way to work at a hospital.
Kenneth Kolarsky, 59, pleaded guilty to attempted failure to perform the duties of a driver to an injured person in connection with the December 2024 crash that killed Nicolas Hernandez-Mendoza, according to the Marion County District Attorney’s Office. He was sentenced to 13 months in prison along with 36 months of post-prison supervision.
The fatal incident took place on Dec. 26, 2024, in Woodburn, Oregon. Prosecutors said Hernandez-Mendoza was crossing the street with a crosswalk safety light activated when Kolarsky’s vehicle struck him.
Authorities said Kolarsky briefly stopped after the collision before driving around the victim, who was lying unconscious in the roadway, and leaving the scene. Hernandez-Mendoza was still alive at the time, prosecutors said.
Investigators later determined that roughly 20 minutes after the crash, Kolarsky arrived at Silverton Hospital, where he worked as a pediatric emergency medicine physician. Prosecutors said he had been driving to his shift from his home in the Portland area when the incident occurred.
Hernandez-Mendoza suffered severe injuries in the collision, including fractures to his cervical vertebrae and pelvis. He later died during surgery after doctors were unable to stop bleeding from his spleen.
Authorities identified Kolarsky after reviewing surveillance footage from the area surrounding the crash site. He was arrested on May 17, 2025.
The case drew significant public attention due to Kolarsky’s profession and the circumstances surrounding the crash.
“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,” Hernandez-Mendoza’s daughter, Kimberly Hernandez, told local outlet KPTV. “I could have my father right now.”
Kimberly Hernandez also said her father died just two days before he was set to meet her son for the first time.
Following Hernandez-Mendoza’s death, the family launched a GoFundMe campaign to help return his body to Mexico.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Brendan Murphy condemned Kolarsky’s actions in a statement following the sentencing.
“Regardless of why the accident occurred, to leave a scene after striking someone with your vehicle is a callous disregard for human life,” Murphy said. “That’s intolerable, and especially offensive when it is committed by a professional who takes an oath to ‘do no harm.’”
