YORK — A York woman is facing several charges after allegedly leading a group that chased down and assaulted a man who struck her car in a hit-and-run accident, according to York police.
Willaidy Orengo-Rivera, 34, of the 400 block of West King Street, is charged with five counts of reckless endangerment, tampering with physical evidence, obstruction of justice, and reckless driving in the incident, which occurred shortly before 10 p.m. on Monday.
Police say Orengo-Rivera unlawfully pursued a vehicle driven by Ellam DeJesus, who had allegedly struck her car in a hit-and-run accident that caused no damage. She allegedly called upon some “associates,” a group that included Kenia Colon-Ortiz and Jaime Rivera-Mercado, to assist her in the chase. That group joined the pursuit in another vehicle.
After chasing DeJesus for an estimated 10 to 15 minutes, from the 400 block of West King Street to the 100 block of South Belvedere Street, Orengo-Rivera and her accomplices caught up to DeJesus. One of the vehicles in the pursuing group struck DeJesus’ car, which in turn hit another vehicle that was not involved in the incident. Two properties on the block were also damaged, according to the criminal complaint.
Once her group caught DeJesus, one group member held him in place at gunpoint while others in the group — specifically Colon-Ortiz and Rivera-Mercado — beat him, according to police.
Orengo-Rivera then allegedly disposed of the weapon, the criminal complaint says. She also repeatedly gave police false accounts of what happened once they began investigating the incident, according to the criminal complaint.
She continued issuing falsehoods until she was allowed to watch surveillance video taken from a nearby home, which captured the incident, according to police.
Colon-Ortiz and Rivera-Mercado were also charged in the incident, police say.
