Driver Flees After Fiery Crash

Date: May 7, 2010
Location: Highway 219 & Scholls Ferry Road, Hillsboro, Oregon
Names: Carrie Smith, Krystal Ann Mincher (aka Krystal Usley)

Police are looking for a Portland woman who fled the scene of a car-truck crash in Oregon that injured her passenger and sparked a fire in the truck, according to reports on KPTV.com and KGW.com.

On May 7, 2010, around 5:20 AM, a speeding car driven by Krystal Ann Mincher (also known as Krystal Usley), 24, of Portland, crossed the center line on a curve near the intersection of Highway 219 and Scholls Ferry Road in Hillsboro, Oregon.

The driver of a semi-truck spotted the oncoming car and tried to swerve, but the car crashed into the front of the truck. The truck’s driver was able to jump out as the truck caught fire, escaping serious injury.

By the time firefighters arrived, the truck’s cab was fully engulfed in flames. The fire was so hot that it melted overhead PGE power lines, and two 100-gallon fuel tanks ruptured. The hit-and-run driver, Mincher, left the scene with an older white man who was driving a black pickup truck.

Mincher’s passenger, Carrie Smith, 24, of Bothell, Washington, was found about 200 yards south of the crash site. She was flown to Legacy Emanuel Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition. Police said Mincher was driving her ex-boyfriend’s car without his permission.

If you have any information about the crash or Mincher’s whereabouts, please call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 503-846-2700. For more on this accident, please refer to the below video from KGW NewsChannel8 Portland:

Hit-and-run in Oregon is a serious crime. If you are convicted of leaving the scene of an accident, you can lose your driving privileges, perhaps permanently. According to the Oregon DMV, you have the following obligations in an accident:

• Stop at once. If anyone is killed or unconscious, you must stay at the scene until a police officer arrives.
• Render aid. Do not move an injured person carelessly, but give reasonable aid
• Exchange information with the other driver. Give them your name, address, driver’s license number, license plate number, and insurance information. DMV offers a printable checklist you can download and keep in your car.
• Report the accident to DMV.

We implore drivers in any Portland vehicle accident situation to put the safety and welfare of others above their own interests, and always, always remain at the scene and make sure no one is hurt. We send our thoughts and prayers to Smith for a quick and complete recovery. We are also thankful that the truck driver was not seriously injured in this crash.

The hit-and-run driver must be held civilly and criminally responsible for his actions. Smith may be well advised to contact a reputed personal injury attorney with experience in hit-and-run crashes who will fight for the justice and compensation that she deserves. At DuBois Law Group, our Portland injury lawyers believe that what happened in this crash is simply unacceptable; we are committed to making sure that hit-and-run drivers are held accountable for their actions and that both victims and families receive the compensation they deserve.