Kelso driver flees scene after crashing through fences near children

A Kelso man crashed his car into two fences, narrowly missing a group of playing children in a residential neighborhood, then left the scene and went to dinner with his mother, authorities said.

Police said Johnathan Carl Hapgood, 24, admitted that he drove his car into the fences in the 100 block of Inner Street. He said he drove away because a crowd of people began running towards him and he fled in fear, according to a police report.

One of the broken fences belongs to Alvaro Calvillo, a 36-year-old father of four who works in the engineering office of the state transportation department. Calvillo told The Daily News that Hapgoods car missed his youngest children a 6-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl by about 15 feet. He said the car also came close to striking two other young children.

Calvillo, who said he didnt witness the crash but heard it, said he was simply relieved nobody got hurt.

One of them could have easily been at risk, he said of the children.

He said a car struck the same fence almost exactly a year ago.

Police said they tracked down Hapgood at his home and noticed what appeared to be fresh damage to his car. Hapgood said he believed the steering failed on the vehicle. But when an officer pointed out that he was able to drive away from the scene and slip the vehicle into a narrow parking spot at his home Hapgood said the steering suddenly started working again after the crash.

Following the crash, Hapgood called his mother and the two went to dinner, according to the report.

Hapgood was cited for hit and run and operating a car without insurance.

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Kelso driver flees scene after crashing through fences near children