PORTLAND — A cyclist just three days into a cross-country trip says a 50-year-old woman sideswiped him on the historic Columbia River Highway last summer and then demanded $200 from him for the damage to her car.
Natalya Zakhariya, 50, pleaded guilty Tuesday and was sentenced to two years of probation for the hit-and-run crash that had left Craig Spiezle injured.
Spiezle said Zakhariya, a Russian immigrant, told him at the scene that it’s common practice for drivers to demand payment when cyclists or others damage their cars.
Spiezle said Zakhariya also told him that she didn’t want to report the crash to police because she feared her insurance rates would go up, according to a probable-cause affidavit. She then drove off without leaving any contact information, he said.
“To this day I cannot comprehend how anyone can be so callous and demand money from another human being they injured,” Speizle wrote in a statement that Deputy District Attorney Elisabeth Waner read aloud in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
Speizle, 60, lives in the Seattle area and didn’t attend the hearing. In his statement, he said he suffered deep wounds to his hip, arm and elbow. He said now, months later, he has nerve damage in his left arm, wears a brace and wakes at night from the numbness in his hand.
Speizle was on a 3,800-mile guided cross-country bicycle ride to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s Disease in honor of his deceased father, who had battled the illness. Speizle pedaled out of Portland on the morning of Aug. 22 and was heading toward Hood River on the Historic Columbia River Highway with an organized group of other cross-country riders.
All of a sudden, he realized his body was skidding across the pavement and he looked up to see the back of a white car with fragments of its side view mirror bouncing along the roadway, he said.
Spiezle said Zakhariya –a registered nurse who identified herself as such — initially offered him first aid. But he said she redirected her energy when she noticed a black scrape on the side of her white car. She tried rubbing it off with the gauze, Spiezle said.
“She then turned to me stating I needed to pay for the damages to her vehicle, specifically stating $200,” Spiezle said. “I could not believe this. The damage to my clothing alone was in excess of $200, not to mention the damage to the bike and my physical self.”
An orthopedic surgeon and a nurse — who were part of the cross-country group — checked Spiezle for broken bones and didn’t find any, Spiezle said. Spiezle was able to finish the day’s ride and ultimately complete his cross-country journey in Portland, Maine — but he noted he didn’t ride “every day and every mile.”
After Zakhariya drove off, Multnomah County sheriff’s Deputy Joseph Graziano responded. Graziano had little to go on, until he responded to a call of a car accident the next day at the same spot on the historic highway: Zakhariya had returned.
The deputy arrived to discover that Zakhariya’s Toyota had accidentally run over the friend who had accompanied her — causing minor injuries, investigators said.
The circumstances leading up to that incident are unclear. Zakhariya told the deputy she was at the scene to get the address of the previous day’s bicycle accident, investigators said. It’s unclear why she wanted the address.
Her defense attorney, Larry Matasar, declined to elaborate. Matasar noted that Spiezle has hired a civil attorney and might file a lawsuit.
Zakhariya originally was charged with felony hit-and-run driving that caused injury to Spiezle. During her plea and sentencing hearing, that charge was dismissed and she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanorm hit-and-run driving causing property damage.
Charley Gee, the civil attorney representing Spiezle, said it was a difficult decision for his client, but after giving it much thought, Spiezle wanted Zakhariya to be convicted only of a misdemeanor so she can continue her work as a nurse who makes home visits to treat patients.
If she had been convicted of the felony, her driver’s license would have been suspended for a year — making it difficult to reach her patients, according to attorneys involved in the case.
The Oregon State Board of Nursing, however, could still take action against Zakhariya’s standing as a licensed registered nurse. Spokeswoman Barbara Holtry said a misdemeanor conviction could result in action, but the board reviews the circumstances of each case individually.
Zakhariya had no previous criminal history. Matasar said Zakhariya has overcome big obstacles in her life through hard work. She lived the first part of her life in Siberia and Russia, at times in plywood barracks with no plumbing.
She and her husband, who is now a chaplain at Portland’s Adventist Medical Center, came to the U.S. in 2002 and became citizens in 2009, Matasar said. They raised three children — now 17, 22 and 25.
Zakhariya attended English-as-a-second-language classes and ultimately studied to successfully earn her registered nursing license, Matasar said.
Zakhariya declined to make a statement in court, but Matasar said she “very much regrets her role in the incident. Nothing like this has ever happened to her.”
In addition to two years of probation, she must complete 100 hours of community service and take a high-risk driving course. She also must pay Spiezle $807 of restitution.
