PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man has been charged with vehicular assault with intoxication and two counts of felony hit-and-run with injury after two bicyclists were hit as they rode on the shoulder of U.S. Highway 101 west of Port Angeles on Labor Day.
Anthony J. McKenzie, 28, was charged Tuesday, according to court documents. He remained in the Clallam County jail Wednesday on $100,000 bond.
The amount of the bond was based on public safety concerns, court documents said.
He is scheduled for a Superior Court hearing at 3 p.m. today at the county courthouse.
One of the two bicyclists remained hospitalized Wednesday.
Jeanie M. Chellino, 54, of Channahon, Ill., remained in stable condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Her husband, Dominick Chellino Jr., 58, also of Channahon, was treated and discharged from Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles.
He told KOMO-TV that his wife’s injuries included multiple fractures of the pelvis, broken ribs and fractures of her vertebrae.
Witnesses told the State Patrol that McKenzie was “swerving back and forth across the whole road,” before he hit two bicyclists on the westbound shoulder of Highway 101 in Indian Valley about 8 miles west of Port Angeles at about 11:45 a.m. Monday — then continued driving.
Jordan R. Bond, 35, of Sequim, who had been on the road behind McKenzie, rammed McKenzie’s truck and stopped him.
Bond and his girlfriend, Kristy D. Davis, 37, of Port Angeles, had been following McKenzie for some time, Bond said.
Bond, a commercial fishing deckhand, said he and Davis were headed for a day of hiking and elk-watching when they came up behind a black Toyota pickup truck at the intersection of Lauridsen Boulevard and Lincoln Street in Port Angeles at about 11:30 a.m. Monday and noticed the truck swerving, unable to stay in its lane.
The pair — who were in a Toyota pickup, initial reports that his truck was a Mazda being in error — decided to follow at a distance and called 9-1-1 to report the erratic driving.
“He almost hit some motorcycles and rode the ditch for about 100 yards,” Bond said.
A second attempt to call 9-1-1 failed, and on the third try at about 11:45 a.m., Davis told dispatchers the black truck was going to hit someone.
Trailing about a half-mile behind the black pickup, they could see that the truck was going to hit two bicyclists on the wide shoulder and helplessly watched the scene unfold.
“I saw bikes and bodies flying through the air,” Bond told a KOMO-TV reporter.
“Honestly, I thought they were dead.
“I knew there was nothing I could do to help the bicyclists, but I knew there was something I could do to help stop more. So I did it.”
Bond said there was no traffic coming either way on the long, straight stretch of road, so he sped up to catch the black pickup, put his truck’s front tire to the rear tire of the other pickup and rammed the black pickup sideways.
Both trucks lost control and came to rest on their wheels on either side of Highway 101, and Bond ran to the other truck, which was still slowly moving east.
He said he found McKenzie in the driver’s seat.
“I opened his door and took it out of gear. He had no clue. He was just going down the road,” he said.
Bond said people from other vehicles stopped to help the injured bicyclists.
Neither Bond nor Davis was injured, the State Patrol said.
McKenzie was not hurt. He was transported to Olympic Medical Center for evaluation, then was booked into jail.
McKenzie told investigators he had had back pain and had taken one of two pills given to him by a friend, according to the probable-cause statement from State Patrol Trooper Chris Moon.
A small blue pill found at the scene was identified by doctors at OMC as 30 milligrams of oxycodone, and McKenzie identified the pill as one of two he was given, Moon said.
An alcohol breath test indicated no presence of alcohol, he said.
Moon said blood samples were taken from McKenzie at OMC and sent to state laboratories for testing.
Dominick Chellino described the moment of the wreck.
“The loudest, craziest sound just came out of nowhere, and I hit the ground,” he said.
Brieanna Chellino, daughter of the couple, said Wednesday she was grateful to the man who stopped McKenzie.
“He not only saved more people from an accident, but he also helped ensure the man that hurt my parents will be held accountable for his actions,” she said.
There are no charges pending against Bond related to intentionally hitting the other vehicle, said Trooper Russ Winger, State Patrol spokesman.
“They were at the scene of a felony. It is much like a citizen’s arrest,” he said.
According to Bond, a trooper on the scene told him he wanted to shake his hand.
“Let me know if you ever want to join the State Patrol,” he said the trooper told him. “You’ve already nailed the defensive driving requirement.”
Both trucks sustained damage.
Bond wasn’t sure how he would repair his truck, for he only has liability insurance.
Damage to the truck includes a broken grille, broken bumper, crinkled hood and shifted frame holding the radiator, he said.
Dominick Chellino said he was grateful for the help.
“The state of Washington’s got to be proud of the people that live here because they went above and beyond,” he told KOMO-TV.
________
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
