An asphalt worker who was hit by an elderly driver on Saturday morning is upset over what he believes was a lack of action on the part of the .
Bob O'Brion told KOMO News he feared for his life when he was hit by an 86-year-old man in the parking lot of a shopping center in the 17100 block of Redmond Way and is angry police did not take the driver into custody.
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O'Brion, who was applying new asphalt sealing in the parking lot, told KOMO he was trying to help the driver find a way out of the shopping center when the man intentionally ran into him with his car—twice. (Click here to see a video of O'Brion describing the incident to KOMO.)
"I slid off the front of the car and he accelerated again, trying to run me over. I swear, I was in fear for my life," O'Brion told KOMO.
Jim Bove, a spokesman for Redmond Police, said it's standard procedure for officers not to arrest drivers at the scene of an incident like this—especially when the person is not at risk of fleeing the area and does not show signs of impairment. Even if the man had been arrested, Bove said police would not have had the legal authority to keep him in jail.
“Had he been arrested, he would have gone to jail and been released immediately anyway,” Bove said, adding that the driver was "very cooperative (and) admitted to everything."
Although the driver left the scene initially, Bove said he drove off because he thought the victim was OK and that he was not speeding when police caught up to him a short time later.
Bove said he estimates a decision on whether to pursue charges in the incident will be reached by early next week.
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What do you think? Did police make the right decision not to arrest the driver at the scene? Tell us in the comments.
