Driver hits pedestrian, returns, and then runs off

The driver seemingly disappeared after this odd crash in outer East Portland …

The victim was hit with such force at the crash in the Centennial neighborhood, the impact pulled him out of his shoes.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

A driver – heading northbound on SE 148th Avenue, a half-block north of SE Division Street, in a white 2008 Infiniti G37 – struck and seriously injured a pedestrian at 8:44 p.m. on September 6.

Witnesses reported seeing the Infiniti taking off, with the passenger’s-side windshield caved in, after the crash.

“After striking the pedestrian, the driver fled the area – but then returned, and was providing aid to the pedestrian,” remarked Portland Police Bureau Public Information Officer Sgt. Pete Simpson.

A Portland Police sergeant and an officer talk, on SE 148th Avenue, where a pedestrian had been stuck by a car.

But, before East Precinct officers arrived, the driver – clad in a Seahawks “51” jersey – ran off on foot.  Then, a woman came to the scene and drove away in the suspect vehicle.

“Officers engaged the female driver in a short pursuit, before she crashed at SE 150th Avenue and Main Street, where she was taken into custody,” Simpson said.

“It was a traumatic experience, seeing this,” said a witness to the aftermath of the crash, Nathanael Lee Jones. “His friend was with him, and kept saying it was his fault for letting him cross the street,” Jones told East Portland News.

Good Samaritan Nathanael Lee Jones tells how he helped the victim, after the driver ran away – on foot – from the crash.

“I told my girlfriend to call the cops. I ran toward them,” Jones said. “I put a towel where he was bleeding and put pressure on it, and I tried to keep him still,” Jones described.

The person injured in the crash was later identified as 21-year-old Dominique Hadley Mann of Northeast Portland. “He remains in a Portland hospital, being treated for injuries,” Simpson said.

A Multnomah County Court judge allowed 32-year-old Amber Nichole Mensing, the woman who drove the crash car from the scene, to walk free the day after she was booked on two Felony charges.
The woman who retrieved the suspect vehicle, 32-year-old Amber Nichole Mensing, was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) at 12:41 a.m. that morning on charges of Hindering Prosecution, Tampering with Physical Evidence, Attempt to Elude by Vehicle, and Reckless Driving.

After her arraignment in Multnomah County Court on September 7, the judge released Mensing to Pretrial Release Services, rather than keeping her in jail or requiring her to post bail.

At the scene, officers continue their investigation.

The investigation is ongoing, and the actual driver who hit the pedestrian has not yet been positively identified or arrested.

© 2016 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News

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