Hearing for hit-and-run injury wreck delayed

PORT ANGELES — A hearing for a man accused of a hit-and-run wreck that hurt a Forks man Saturday was delayed Thursday because of concerns about the qualifications of the interpreter.

Francisco Comonfort-Soavedra’s first appearance will be at 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14.

The Spanish interpreter for Thursday’s hearing was not court-certified, and it was decided that this did not meet the legal requirements.

Comonfort, 46, turned himself in Wednesday and was booked into the Clallam County jail for investigation of leaving the scene of an injury accident, said Sgt. Ed Anderson of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.

Comonfort was released from jail that day and directed to report to Superior Court on Thursday for his first appearance.

Caylen Phegley, 22, was hit by a van Saturday as he rode his motorcycle while bear hunting. He has been treated and discharged from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Anderson said Comonfort admitted to hitting the man during interviews with sheriff’s deputies.

The Saturday evening collision between the van and motorcycle was about 5 miles up the Sekiu River Main Line Logging Road, which is accessed from milepost 10 on state Highway 112.

When deputies arrived at 7:08 p..m., accompanied by law enforcement from La Push Police Department and members of the Clallam Bay Ambulance crew, they found a bent-up motorcycle and a license plate from the van that had struck the motorcycle, Anderson said.

The van had left the scene, and Phegley, the motorcycle rider, already had been taken from the scene, Anderson said.

Comonfort, who had been picking salal for Olympic Evergreen Company in Forks, was identified as the driver of the van, Anderson said.

More in News

Children pick up candy along the parade route in Forks on Friday during the Forks Old Fashioned 4th of July Parade. (Lonnie Archibald/for Peninsula Daily News)
Festivities on the Fourth

Children pick up candy along the parade route in Forks on Friday… Continue reading

A new parking lot next to the Sequim Civic Center will be completed by the end of the summer, according to Sequim city staff. The city purchased three lots adjacent to the center in June 2022 to convert the properties into a parking lot. The lots also were known for common calls to 911. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Sequim sets its list of projects

Summer work includes paving streets

Weekly flight operations scheduled

There will be field carrier landing practice operations for aircraft… Continue reading

Security exercise set for Wednesday at Indian Island

Naval Magazine Indian Island will conduct a security training… Continue reading

Project SAFER aims to help those with disabilities

Form identifies sensitivities for law enforcement officers

Summer meal programs help out families in Jefferson County

Jefferson Healthcare and Jefferson County Food Bank Association offer assistance

Violinist Kristian Bugge plays traditional Danish folk songs with Fiddle Tunes found Bertram Levy, July 2. (ELIJAH SUSSMAN/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS)
Fiddle Tunes fill the air at Fort Worden

Traditions flourish, musical and otherwise

Beaver Valley fire sees road closure

One acre vegetation fire controlled quickly

Public meeting on Rayonier Mill Cleanup on Tuesday

The Washington State Department of Ecology on Tuesday will… Continue reading

Port Angeles City Council taking applications for seat

A vacancy on the City Council must be filled… Continue reading

KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
Construction workers stand on what remains of the old U.S. 101 bridge over the Elwha River on Wednesday as the aging structure is dismantled. The old bridge, built in 1926, was in danger of washout when the river beneath changed course and engineers discovered the bridge piers were built on gravel instead of bedrock, leading to constructon of a new bridge, at right, which was opened to traffic in 2024. The old bridge was to remain in place until a fish-spawning window, which runs from mid-July until the end of August.
Bridge removal

Construction workers stand on what remains of the old U.S. Highway 101… Continue reading