Suspected hit-and-run driver taken into custody
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Story Published: Nov 28, 2007 at 4:18 PM PST

Story Updated: Nov 28, 2007 at 7:05 PM PST
By KATU Web Staff

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http://www.katu.com/news/11898051.html

GLADSTONE, Ore. - A 51-year-old Milwaukie man is in custody in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash involving a woman in a wheelchair.

The crash happened Wednesday around 6 a.m., a time when it was dark and foggy.

According to police, the woman had just gotten off a TriMet bus and was crossing Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard in an unmarked area near Jennings Avenue and Boardman Avenue when she was struck by a dark-colored vehicle.

The woman, who was later identified as 40-year-old Mary Denise Richey of north Portland, was dragged about 100 feet in her wheelchair. She suffered serious injuries and later died at Oregon Health and Science University.

Police later took 51-year-old Rafael Avelino Gines into custody after a green 1995 Ford Econoline van, believed to be the vehicle involved in the hit-and-run, was located in the vicinity of the crash. A tip led police to the van (pictured below under the green tarp).

Avelino Gines is being held at the Clackamas County Jail and faces one count of felony hit-and-run.

The investigation is continuing and anyone with information is asked to call the Oregon State Police Northern Command Center at (800) 452-7888.