Share
ROCK HILL A Fort Mill driver told police he was scared and didn’t know what to do Friday when he rear-ended a pickup near downtown Rock Hill and then fled on foot – leaving behind two injured young children.
Richard Michael Kordelski, 28, is charged with unlawful conduct toward a child, leaving the scene of an accident and driving under suspension, according to Rock Hill Police documents.
At about 4 p.m. Friday, officers went to the 600 block of Charlotte Avenue after receiving calls about an accident, the report states. They spoke with the 65-year-old driver of a Nissan Frontier pickup, which had been rear-ended by a Ford Escort parked in the middle of the road with a damaged hood.
The pickup driver told police the Escort’s driver, identified as Kordelski, left the scene on foot. Several of Kordelski’s friends arrived at the scene and told officers that two boys, ages 5 and 8, were in the car at the time of the wreck and were “abandoned” by Kordelski when he left, according to the report.
The 5-year-old, who had been sitting in the back seat, had blood on his face, the report states, and the 8-year-old sitting in the front seat complained of mild head pain after he was struck by an airbag. Police say Kordelski and the children live at the same address.
Police called Kordelski and convinced him to return to the accident site, the report states. Kordelski told police he was scared and didn’t know what to do after the accident, so he ran away.
Police took Kordelski to the Rock Hill jail, where they found that he had a 2008 conviction for driving under suspension. Kordelski has an expansive criminal history spanning four different police jurisdictions, according to records with the State Law Enforcement Division.
In 2002, he was convicted under the youthful offender act for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. A year later, he received five years of probation for using a vehicle without permission.
A city magistrate set a $15,000 bond Saturday before he was transferred to the York County Detention Center and later released.
Check back later for more details
