A Vancouver man is suspected of striking and injuring a bicyclist with an SUV before fleeing.
Anthony J. Filippini, 32, made an in-custody first appearance Wednesday on suspicion of hit-and-run-injury. Judge Gregory Gonzales granted supervised release, and an arraignment was scheduled for Jan. 21, according to court records.
The crash was reported at 10:11 a.m. Tuesday at Broadway and East Evergreen Boulevard in downtown Vancouver. A witness told Vancouver police that the driver of the dark-colored SUV and a bicyclist had a verbal altercation prior to the crash, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
The witness said the driver made no attempt to stop after striking the bicyclist before taking off north on Broadway, according to the affidavit. After finding the bicyclist — identified as Mark S. Kukich — down in the intersection with bystanders tending to cuts to his head and hands, medical personnel placed him on a gurney with a neck brace and took him to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. Kukich was treated and released from the hospital that day, a hospital spokeswoman said.
After a witness provided a license plate number for the SUV, police traced it to a 2015 Honda Pilot that was registered to Filippini’s home address, according to the affidavit. Police later contacted Filippini, who matched the description of the driver provided by witnesses, at his home, the affidavit said.
Filippini admitted to being involved in the crash, according to the affidavit. He said that he initially collided with Kukich on East Evergreen Boulevard near Fort Vancouver Way after the bicyclist left the bike lane and hit the passenger side of the SUV, the affidavit said.
Kukich, however, said the SUV struck him with the passenger-side window and didn’t stop, according to the affidavit. Filippini acknowledged that he didn’t stop after the first collision and said that Kukich “seemed fine,” the affidavit said.
After continuing west on East Evergreen Boulevard, Kukich stopped for a red light at a traffic signal. Filippini said that the bicyclist approached the driver’s-side window, pounded on it and screamed that he was going to kill him, though Kukich said he was informing him that he had been in a collision, the affidavit said.
Filippini said that he was scared and, when the light turned green and Kukich began to go in front of the SUV, he panicked and struck him while driving away, according to the affidavit.
Filippini drove to his home without checking on Kukich or reporting the incident, the affidavit said.
