The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office identified a 38-year-old man as the person found dead under a tree July 8 along Northeast Andresen Road.
Patrick James Sellem, whose city of residence is unknown, died from blunt-force injuries after being struck by a car, according to the medical examiner’s office. His death was ruled an accident.
Luella F. Roberson, 32, of Vancouver is accused of hit-and-run and vehicular homicide in Sellem’s death. She appeared on the allegations last week in Clark County Superior Court. Her bail was set at $500,000.
Sellem was struck while sitting under a tree by the WinCo Foods store at 2101 N.E. Andresen Road in central Vancouver.
Vancouver police were initially dispatched just before 1 p.m. to the store’s parking lot for a report of a disturbance between two women in a Subaru, and were told the driver possibly struck other cars. Officers could not locate the suspect or any damaged vehicles. They were dispatched back to the location less than 20 minutes later upon reports of a deceased man under a tree, according to court records. Sellem was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers reviewed video of the incident and saw a silver Subaru stop within the WinCo parking lot. The driver accelerated rapidly, driving over a curb, through the bushes, back onto the pavement, and out of the parking lot. In court records, an officer noted tire marks on either side of Sellem’s body. Scraping and crushing wounds indicated the vehicle drove over him.
Police located the Subaru at a nearby townhome complex, and a police K-9 tracked down Roberson on the Burnt Bridge Creek Trail, according to court records.
She allegedly told police she was the driver of the Subaru, but she said she was unaware she struck someone, court records state.
