Mentor man charged in hit-skip

A Mentor man accused of fleeing the scene of a crash, causing more crashes and sending two people to the hospital after a Fourth of July fireworks display in Fairport Harbor faced formal charges July 12, Painesville Municipal Court records show.

Twenty-year-old Paul Oudeman Jr., whose address is listed in his case file as 5244 Sable Court, was arraigned on third-degree felony failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer and misdemeanor counts of hitskip, driving under suspension, no operator’s license, willful and wanton disregard of public safety and leaving the scene of an accident, his arraignment paperwork states.

Oudeman is accused of causing a hit-skip crash resulting in damage to multiple vehicles and sending two people to the hospital following the fireworks display in Fairport Harbor Village.

Fairport Harbor Village Police Chief Jackson P. Leonard Jr. stated in a July 5 news release that at 11:14 p.m. July 4, officers were dispatched to the area of Second and Vine streets after reports of a driver operating a white Dodge pickup who crashed into another vehicle, then left the scene.

“There was a mounted unit (horse) in the area from the Lake Metroparks Ranger Department, who was in town to assist with crowd control, as the Fairport Harbor Mardi Gras was taking place,” Leonard’s release reads. “The mounted officer observed the suspect truck in the area. Upon Fairport Harbor Police Department arrival in the area, an officer exited his patrol unit and attempted to have the truck operator stop and the truck fled, striking additional vehicles.”

Traveling south on Eagle Street, the truck hit two more vehicles near the intersection of Eagle and Fifth streets, causing injuries to the occupants of those two vehicles, police report.

The truck eventually stopped in the 500 block of Eagle Street and its driver got out and fled on foot, according to Fairport Harbor Village police.

Oudeman’s total bond was set at $60,000/10 percent cash/surety July 12 at his arraignment and he’s being held at Lake County Jail pending a July 17 pretrial/preliminary hearing. If he does post bond, conditions include no driving, electronically monitored house arrest and GPS monitoring, according to his arraignment paperwork.

If convicted of the felony charge alone, Oudeman could be sentenced to a maximum three years behind bars.