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54 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, May 7, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 3, 2005 Police try to sort out brawl The driver of a car that ran over two men after an Ashland dispute says he was fleeing for his life By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune A Medford man told police he was attempting to flee an alcohol-fueled melee at a party outside of Ashland early Saturday when his car ran over two men — one of whom was his friend — who apparently were lying in the roadway, authorities said. The driver said he could barely see through his Cadillac’s broken windshield when he unknowingly backed over his friend, Isreal Fransua Moncada, 22, who was lying hurt from the brawl in the 600 block of South Valley View Road, according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. The driver, whose name was not available Monday, then ran over Moncada again as he drove forward, also striking and injuring party-goer Timothy Williams, 21, of Ashland, sheriff’s deputies said. "The driver says he was in fear for his life and he just wanted to escape the melee," sheriff’s Detective Colin Fagan said Monday. "He hit the gas and unknowingly ran those folks over," Fagan said. Advertisement Williams and Moncada were the most seriously injured during the brawl between a group of party-goers at the Valley View Road house and a carload of Medford residents who mistakenly believed they were invited, authorities said. Moncada was discharged Monday afternoon from Providence Medford Medical Center, where he had been treated for unspecified injuries since early Saturday, a hospital spokeswoman said. A spokeswoman at Rogue Valley Medical Center said Williams was no longer a patient there, but she declined to say if or where Williams was transferred. No one has been arrested in connection with the brawl, said Fagan, who has interviewed about two dozen of the estimated 50 people attending the party at a residence that police said was notorious for young drinkers. Fagan said he expects one or more arrests in connection with the fight, which started as a misunderstanding that boiled into a brawl and the purported brandishing of a Taser, a shotgun and a hammer. "Everybody did the wrong thing," Fagan said. "It could have all been handled differently, but alcohol impairs judgment." Moncada was one of a group of men who drove up in the thought they were invited to the party early Saturday, Fagan said. When they got there, they were told they were not invited, and a fight broke out when they failed to leave immediately, police said. The men in the Cadillac told police they then left, but returned a short time later to warn a friend not to go to the party, Fagan said. They didn’t find the friend, but it triggered a second brawl that led to the accidents, Fagan said. The driver did not have obvious signs of impairment and consented to a blood withdrawal for blood-alcohol tests, Fagan said. The results of those tests were not available Monday. Investigators have looked at whether the brawl had racial undertones, but no one specifically has said the fight was racially motivated, Fagan said. "The party was attended primarily by white kids," Fagan said. "The young men who came in the Cadillac were Asian and Hispanic." Further details were unavailable late Monday and Sheriff Mike Winters did not return a phone call seeking more information. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Paris Hilton Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Slippers Student Loans Tatoo tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoos Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Advertisement s