A conflict between two men in Ridgefield that ended with one hitting the other with a vehicle began after the victim’s daughter apparently sneaked out of her house to meet up with the driver, court records show.
Benjamin N. Toun, 19, a senior at Ridgefield High School, appeared Friday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of vehicular assault stemming from the Wednesday night incident.
Ridgefield police officers were called to the 2400 block of North Ninth Circle at 11:40 p.m. for a report of an injury traffic crash. Upon arrival, police found Ryan Glidewell on the ground holding his right arm. Glidewell said his arm was broken, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
He told police that his daughter had sneaked out of the house and that he texted her telling her to get home. Glidewell then got into his vehicle to go look for her and saw his daughter walking away from a car that had just dropped her off at the end of his street, the affidavit states.
The car drove past Glidewell’s vehicle to turn around in the cul-de-sac, so Glidewell blocked it in. He got out of his car and confronted the driver, later identified as Toun, and said he was going to call 911, according to court records.
Toun drove forward and allegedly bumped Glidewell with his car. He then reversed his car and accelerated toward Glidewell at high speed, striking him with the driver’s side. Glidewell fell to the ground, according to court documents.
A witness said he heard the sound of an engine revving and saw the beginning of the confrontation before calling 911, the affidavit states.
Police identified Toun as the suspect and went to his residence. They found his vehicle around the corner from his house, court records said.
Toun told police he was feeling suicidal and texted a friend to meet up and talk. He picked up his friend, and a short time later, she received a text from her parents telling her to come home. He dropped her off at the end of her street, according to court documents.
When he attempted to turn around to leave, Glidewell blocked Toun in, he said, and stood in front of his car yelling. He felt threatened, he said, and at one point Glidewell hit the hood of his car, the affidavit states. Toun said he planned to fake out Glidewell by steering left and then right to squeeze past him. As he was going by, he said Glidewell hit him in the shoulder through the open window on the driver’s side, court records said.
When asked why he didn’t report the crash, Toun said his cellphone was dead and he didn’t want to wake anyone up by using the landline at his house, according to court documents.
Glidewell was taken to Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center for his suspected broken arm.
During Toun’s court appearance, Judge Gregory Gonzales appointed Shon Bogar to represent him, and Bogar quickly argued that the teen was blocked in. Bogar said that he could understand how the officer’s description of how the events occurred could be seen differently.
The prosecution argued for $40,000 bail in the case, but Gonzales sided with Bogar, who argued for supervised release due to the fact that Toun is in high school.
Toun will be arraigned April 25.
