A 59-year-old emergency room physician in Oregon will spend more than a year behind bars after he struck a pedestrian with his SUV, drove around the fatally injured victim, and then went to his shift at a nearby hospital.
Marion County Circuit Court Judge Courtland Geyer on Tuesday ordered Dr. Kenneth Kolarsky to serve 13 months in a state correctional facility in connection with the death of 44-year-old Nicolas Hernandez-Mendoza.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.Geyer handed down the sentence after Kolarsky pleaded guilty on April 21 to one count of attempted failure to perform the duties of a driver to injured persons. Following his incarceration, the former doctor will be required to serve an additional three years of supervised release.
During Tuesday's sentencing hearing, the judge criticized the veteran doctor for leaving a "community member fallen and in the dark" and acting with an "absence of dignity," Portland NBC affiliate KGW reported.
The fatal encounter occurred on the night of Dec. 26, 2024, as Kolarsky was driving from his Portland home to Silverton Hospital.
Prosecutors said Hernandez-Mendoza had activated crosswalk safety lights before stepping onto Highway 99E in Woodburn, The Oregonian reported. Investigators say Kolarsky struck the victim, drove around his unconscious body, and continued to his workplace, where he was seen entering just 20 minutes later to work a full night shift.
Hernandez-Mendoza was transported to a local hospital with a broken neck and pelvis, but died during emergency surgery the following day. While prosecutors noted that rain and dark clothing likely contributed to the initial impact, they emphasized that the criminal conduct began when Kolarsky fled.
"If the defendant had stayed on scene, there would have been no charges," Deputy District Attorney Tyler Hopkins told the court, according to a report by The Statesman Journal.
In the weeks following the crash, Kolarsky allegedly took steps to conceal the damage to his vehicle.
Prosecutors stated that Kolarsky's girlfriend drove the SUV to Minnesota, claiming she hit a deer along the way, and that Kolarsky paid cash to have a dent about the size of a person repaired. Detectives eventually identified the vehicle through surveillance footage and arrested the physician in May 2025.
In court filings, Kolarsky's defense reportedly blamed the lapse in judgment on "brain fog" caused by a previously undiagnosed ferritin deficiency and exhaustion from repeated shifts. Kolarsky addressed the court, stating, "I'm ashamed and I'm disappointed in the decision I made that day."
Chief Deputy District Attorney Brendan Murphy highlighted the irony of the situation, noting it was "especially offensive when it is committed by a professional who takes an oath to 'do no harm.'"
Kolarsky, whose medical license has been inactive since June 2025 following a notice of "unprofessional or dishonorable conduct," settled a civil suit with the victim's estate for $300,000. He began serving his sentence immediately following the hearing.
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