Police catch up with driver who struck bicyclist
The Beaverton Valley Times, Feb 4, 2010
A 22-year-old Aloha man suspected of drunk driving was arrested Tuesday night after he reportedly struck a man riding a bicycle, left the roadway and fled the scene in a van.
Washington County sheriff’s deputies determined that Luis Arcos-Cardenas was the driver and that he was intoxicated. He was lodged in the Washington County Jail on charges for driving under the influence of intoxicants, third-degree assault, hit and run and criminal mischief.
Just after 4 p.m., deputies received a report of a crash involving a mini-van and a bicycle at the intersection of Southwest 175th Avenue and Washington Street in Aloha.
Witnesses reported that the driver of a green Mazda MPV struck bicyclist Kevin P. Lynch, 27, of Aloha, from behind launching his bicycle about 30 feet and tossing Lynch over the top of the van. The van then ran off the road and slammed into two mailboxes and a water main. The driver left the scene without stopping.
Just prior to the crash, deputies received a call about a drunk driver in the same area driving a green mini-van. The caller provided the license plate of the vehicle.
When deputies heard the witness descriptions of the van that hit Lynch, they headed for the apartment belonging to the registered owner of the van reported earlier. Deputies arrested Arcos-Cardenas a short time later in his apartment, 17420 S.W. Shaw St.
Meanwhile, Lynch was transported by ambulance to Oregon Health and Science University for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. “He was wearing a helmet that cracked on impact and most likely spared him from life-threatening head injuries,” said Sgt. David Thompson, sheriff’s office spokesman.
