West Salem High teacher accused of hit and run involving child

A West Salem High School choir teacher faces a charge of a felony hit and run after she was accused of failing to stay at the scene of a crash when a child collided with the vehicle she was driving and broke his leg.

Salem Police said that Kimberly McConnell, 52, was legally required to provide necessary information, render aid to the 8-year-old boy and remain at the scene until the arrival of a police officer.

But her attorney, Salem-based Walter Todd, said Wednesday, that the crash was unavoidable and McConnell's husband stayed at the scene while she took her son only blocks away to West Salem High School and returned minutes later to find that the boy had been taken to a hospital in a private vehicle.

McConnell now faces a felony charge of injury hit and run. She was taken to Polk County jail on Sept. 23 and posted bail hours later — just after midnight on Sept. 24, a jail deputy said.

"The investigation when finished will show Mrs. McConnell was driving the speed limit. The child skateboarded into the rear of her vehicle. The accident was unavoidable. Mrs. McConnell stopped immediately. She is neighbors with the family and their children played together. The child's family did not want to call 911 or an ambulance. Mrs. McConnell's husband stayed on site while she briefly took her own son to the high school and then immediately returned minutes later. By then the child had been taken by private vehicle to the hospital," Todd said.

The incident occurred on Friday, Sept. 19, around 6 p.m. when McConnell was driving on Ptarmigan Street NW. In the 1600 block, her vehicle struck an 8-year-old boy, said Salem Police Lt. Dave Okada.

She did stop her car at that point, Okada said, but left before providing the required information. There was a witness at the scene who happened to be a nurse.

According to the police report, it was clear that the boy was injured.

"The nurse was concerned enough with the medical condition of the victim that she helped get the child into a vehicle and take him down to Salem Hospital for immediate treatment," Okada said.

The boy was then taken to a Portland-area hospital. His injury included a compound fracture in his leg, Okada said.

The family of the boy did not report the incident to police until Sept. 23, at which point officers started an investigation and arrested McConnell at the Salem Police Department for failure to perform the duties of a driver involved in an injury accident, Okada said.

According to the Polk County jail, she posted bail on a felony hit and run charge.

Okada said that she was legally required to provide identification for herself and anyone else who may have been in the vehicle, along with her driver's license.

Jay Remy, spokesman for Salem-Keizer Public Schools, said that McConnell has worked at West Salem as a choir teacher since 2011. She has continued to work in her position there since the incident.

Because she is a teacher and does not drive for the school, Remy said, the case needs to get further in the court system before it may have a connection to her work.

"If she were a driver, that might be different. There is not an automatic impact on (her) job," he said.

She is reportedly neighbors to the family, Okada said, and Todd confirmed that the families know each other.

The police report of the incident did not mention alcohol was a factor in the crash, nor did it include the speed of McConnell's vehicle. It also was not confirmed whether there were any passengers in McConnell's vehicle.

jdewitt@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6714 or follow on Twitter.com @Joce_DeWitt