A Marion County jury on Friday found a Jefferson man not guilty of criminally negligent homicide or driving under the influence but guilty of failing to perform duties of a driver in a 2023 hit-and-run that resulted in the death of a bicyclist on Jefferson Highway.
On Aug. 12, 2023, Brian Hammons, 56, was driving a Dodge RAM 3500 pickup truck on Talbot Road SE and turned left onto the highway, Oregon State Police said. Harley Auten, 42, of Jefferson, was bicycling in the southbound bike lane through the intersection and the truck collided with him, police said.
Hammons originally left the scene when medical personnel arrived but turned himself in to investigators the following day, according to police. He was indicted by a Marion County Grand Jury on charges of second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, driving under the influence of intoxicants and failure to perform duties of a driver.
He was acquitted Thursday of second-degree manslaughter.
According to a GoFundMe for Auten’s family, he was the primary financial supporter for his mother. Biking was a hobby he’d picked up to lose weight, the GoFundMe said.
In a letter to the judge, Hammons mother wrote the crash was merely an accident and asked for Hammons to be sentenced to probation and community service.
She said he stopped and “helped the EMT people, then fear hit him,” and he fled.
The verdict concluded a four day trial. His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 19.
Isabel Funk covers breaking news and public safety for the Statesman Journal. Funk can be reached at [email protected] or on X at @isabeldfunk
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon man convicted on 1 charge in bicyclist hit-and-run
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