EIZER times
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Vol. 43 • No. 20
MARCH 04, 2022
Driving Under Influence: Three deaths, one driver
By Joey Cappelletti
Of the Keizertimes
The Modine brothers, Andrew and
Thomas, were drinking at The Shack Bar and
Grille in Salem on a September night in 2015.
The brothers left the bar around 8 p.m.
and headed for Thomas’s house, according to
police records.
Andrew, who was driving, arrived at
the house and went inside to speak with
Thomas’s fiancé, according to police records
The two chatted for several minutes before
Andrew realized Thomas was missing.
A half a block away, Thomas Modine was
lying on the road, unconscious. He was found
later that night by police and transported to
Salem Hospital to be treated for a severe trau-
matic brain injury.
Six days later, Thomas Modine, 32, died as
a result of his injuries.
Andrew Modine is now in the Marion
County jail, awaiting trial on charges of two
counts of first-degree manslaughter, sec-
ond-degree assault, reckless endangerment,
reckless driving, driving under the influence
of intoxicants, driving while criminally sus-
pended, second-degree criminal mischief
and a probation violation.
He is accused of being drunk and driving
through the side of a Keizer home on Jan. 22,
2022. His blood alcohol content, according to
a blood draw done later at Salem Hospital,
was .24 – three times the legal limit. The
crash killed Moira Hughes, 67, and George
Heitz, 63, who were in bed at the time of the
incident.
In 2015, following the death of his
brother, Modine was charged with criminally
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negligent homicide, driving under the influ-
ence of intoxicants and failure to perform
duties of a driver to injured persons. Under
the most serious charge, Modine faced up to
10 years in prison.
Instead, he was allowed to go free, sen-
tenced to five years of supervised probation
that records show lasted only two and a half
years.
Prosecutors say they let Modine avoid
prison in the 2015 case because there were
“unique factual and legal challenges” that
could have resulted in his acquittal. A review
of records shows, however, that they never
invoked a key provision of that plea deal –
Modine would go to prison if caught drinking
or otherwise violating terms of the deal.
Interviews and records established that:
*Prosecutors struck a deal with Modine,
fearing a jury wouldn’t convict him for the
death of his brother.
*A year after his conviction, Modine
admitted to drinking and smoking marijuana
at a family event. That violated the plea deal
in a way that was to trigger a 40-month prison
sentence. Instead, records show, he was only
fined $25.
*Probation records indicate that Modine
hadn’t been evaluated for alcohol-use since
July 2019 and hadn’t spoken with his proba-
tion officer since October 2019.
“The job of a prosecutor is often an exer-
cise in disappointment. There are cases every-
day that cause us to wish we could do more
or do better,” said Marion County District
Attorney Paige Clarkson. “But we must fol-
low the law and our obligation to prove every
element of every charge is often frustrated by
Aftermath of post-crash scene
a lack of evidence. The 2015 Modine case was
one of those circumstances.”
The background
Modine’s history of DUIs dates back to
1999, when he was first arrested for driving
under the influence of intoxicants at age 18. A
year later, he received his second DUI. From
1999 to 2009, Modine was also found guilty of
five felonies.
“There is an extensive history of alcohol
use and there has not been a long period
where that has not been an issue in his life,”
Gillian Fischer, then a Marion County deputy
district attorney, said at a 2017 court hearing.
For a six-year period between 2009 and
2015, Modine’s record was clean. Then, came
the accident that led to the death of his
brother.
Photo by JOEY CAPPELLETTI of Keizertimes
“Hi mom I’m intoxicated and being a bad
influence I’ll you at the house at about 8:15,”
Andrew texted his mother at 7:47 p.m. on
Sept. 5, according to a probable cause state-
ment from Keizer police.
The brothers left the bar in a 1950s
Chevrolet pickup truck and headed towards
Thomas’s house in Keizer, according to the
police affidavit.
As they approached, Andrew did some-
thing that he told police his father would
often do in the vehicle – turn without break-
ing to allow the truck to coast to the final
destination. Crash reconstruction would later
show that Thomas fell from the truck during
the turn, tumbling along the pavement and
suffering what proved to be fatal injuries.
See DRIVING, page A2
Oregon will now drop indoor mask requirement March 12
SUBSCRIBER ADDRESS :
By Rachel Alexander
Of Salem Reporter
Oregonians can drop their masks
indoors starting March 12, Gov. Kate
Brown said Monday morning (February
28, 2022). The announcement moves up by
one week the timeline state health officials
announced just days ago.
Oregon had been scheduled to lift mask-
ing mandates in most public places March
19. Brown acted jointly with Democratic
governors Jay Inslee of Washington and
Gavin Newsom of California, who will lift
their state’s indoor mandates on the same
date, according to a joint news release.
“As has been made clear time and again
over the last two years, COVID-19 does
not stop at state borders or county lines,”
Brown said in a statement. “On the West
Coast, our communities and economies are
linked. Together, as we continue to recover
from the Omicron surge, we will build resil-
iency and prepare for the next variant and
the next pandemic.”
Brown acted because of “rapidly declin-
ing COVID-19 hospitalizations along the
West Coast,” said Liz Merah, a spokes-
woman for her office, as well as improved
modeling at the state level and new guid-
ance Friday from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
Those factors “indicate mask require-
ments can safely be lifted earlier than pre-
viously announced,” Merah said.
The CDC on Friday recommended
Americans continue to wear masks indoors
in areas where community spread of
Covid is high, but said in areas with low or
medium spread, most people do not need
to wear masks indoors.
See MASK, page A6
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