Tow-truck driver arrested in Redmond hit-and-run crash
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A tow truck driver was arrested Thursday on felony hit-and-run and other charges, accused of hitting and injuring a 77-year-old Redmond woman in a crosswalk, police said Friday.
Redmond officers and Redmond Fire medics responded just before 8 a.m. Thursday to the reported vehicle-pedestrian hit-and-run crash at the intersection of Northwest Sixth Street and Jackpine Avenue, Lt. Curtis Chambers said.
The alleged victim was found with serious injuries and taken to St. Charles Redmond, then taken to St. Charles Bend, he said. A hospital spokeswoman said she was in fair condition Friday morning.
Witnesses told on-scene investigators they thought a white full-sized pickup was involved in the crash, but further investigation determined the driver was operating a tow truck owned by a Redmond towing business.
The truck was found at the business, which Chambers said fully cooperated with the investigation, including identifying the driver as Ryan Bills, 26, of Bend.
The investigation, assisted by the Oregon State Police Crime Lab, determined a tow truck driven by Bills struck the woman as she crossed Jackpine Avenue at the Sixth Street intersection, Chambers said.
Video evidence from a nearby business confirmed Newman was legally crossing the street in an unmarked crosswalk, he added.
Bills was arrested on charges of felony hit-and-run and second-degree assault charges. He was taken to the Deschutes County Jail in Bend, where he remained held Friday on $70,000 bail, also facing a misdemeanor charge of recklessly endangering, jail records showed.
