PORT ANGELES — A Sequim man is credited with stopping an alleged hit-and-run driver by turning his own pickup truck into a ram after two bicyclists were mowed down on U.S. Highway 101 west of Port Angeles.
Jordan R. Bond, 35, was faced with an “extreme situation” and made hard decisions as events unfolded Monday morning, said Trooper Russ Winger, spokesman for the State Patrol.
“He possibly saved someone else from getting hit,” Winger said.
Jeanie M. Chellino, 54, of Channahon, Ill., was listed in stable and improving condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Tuesday.
Her husband, Dominick Chellino Jr., 58, also of Channahon, Ill., was treated and discharged from Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles.
He told KOMO-TV that his wife suffered rib, vertebrae and pelvis fractures.
“The loudest, craziest sound just came out of nowhere and I hit the ground,” he said.
Bond witnessed the 11:45 a.m. collision about 8 miles west of Port Angeles — a mile from the Indian Valley weigh station — that left the two bicycles twisted and broken by the side of the road, he told the State Patrol and KOMO-TV.
“I saw bikes and bodies flying through the air,” Bond told a television 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.”
After hitting the two cyclists, who were riding westbound on the highway shoulder, the 1985 Toyota pickup continued to travel west, Bond told the State Patrol.
So he positioned his 1992 Mazda pickup alongside the pickup driven by Anthony James McKenzie, 28, of Port Angeles and “slammed into him from the side like the cops do on the shows . . . and then I had him in front of me sideways and slammed into him again just to get him stopped,” he told KOMO-TV.
He said he opened the door of the other truck and physically restrained McKenzie until officers arrived.
In most situations, the State Patrol would prefer that people call 9-1-1, but the situation Monday was different, Winger said.
Bond said he had been following the Toyota pickup for a long time and observed it swerving all over the road and almost hitting several other cars, Winger said.
“[McKenzie] was unable to drive straight,” he said.
Winger said Bond’s passenger, Kristy D. Davis, 37, had been in contact with police dispatchers by cellphone to report the erratic pickup truck.
When Bond slammed into the Toyota, it rotated to the left, crossed the eastbound lane and come to rest on the east shoulder, while Bond’s Mazda came to rest off the road on the west shoulder, the State Patrol said.
Neither Bond nor Davis were injured.
McKenzie was not hurt. He was transported to Olympic Medical Center for evaluation, then was booked into the Clallam County jail.
According to the jail log, McKenzie is under investigation of driving while under the influence of drugs and for vehicular assault.
Charges of hit and run may also be considered, Winger said.
McKenzie is scheduled for a predisposition hearing today at 3 p.m. in Clallam County Superior Court.
Both pickups were damaged. McKenzie’s Toyota has been impounded in Port Angeles. Bond’s Mazda was driven from the scene.
There are no charges pending against Bond related to intentionally hitting the other vehicle, Winger said.
“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.”
Dominick Chellino Jr., 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
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
