PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A 77-year-old woman was indicted in a hit-and-run crash that killed one woman and injured a man as they were on their first date about 8 months ago.
Patricia Clayton was charged with 2 counts of failing to perform the duties of a driver in Hillsboro. The January 19 crash at NE Cornell Road and 17th killed Marjorie Averill. Her date, Timothy Mahan, was slightly injured.
The North Plains woman was arrested by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Hillsboro police, then taken to the Washington County Jail.
Investigators at the time said a white van was traveling south on Northeast 17th Avenue, stopped at a stop sign and turned left onto Northeast Cornell Road while a man and a woman were crossing. The van hit both Averill and Mahan, then drove away without stopping.
The day after the crash, Hillsboro police said they located the van that has a dark-colored graphic decal along its driver’s side and identified a person of interest.
Days later, Mahan told KOIN 6 News he and Averill were on their first date when they crossed the street around 7:40 p.m.
“We were walking and just about to the bus stop. We had to cross the crosswalk right there and the van took off, kind of knocked me out of the way,” he said. “I was, like, banging on the hood of the van, you know, ‘Stop! Stop!’ you know, and it just sped up.”
Mahan, 47, said he was on the inside, closest to the van, and she was on the outside. Averill was 38.
“If they could have stopped once they hit me, and I would have had my little injuries and she would have been fine,” he said. “Everything would have been fine. They chose to speed up.”
