A18
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Blue Mountain Eagle
Plan a sober ride
this holiday season
Buzzed driving
is drunk driving
By Zach Mobley
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
This holiday season, the
Grant and Wheeler county
sheriff’s offices are teaming
up with the U.S. Department
of Transportation’s National
Highway Traffic Safety Ad-
ministration to remind all
drivers about the dangers of
drinking and driving. With
the holiday festivities and
extra office parties taking
place, it’s essential to plan a
sober ride home before ever
leaving for the event. This
holiday, as you head out for
a night of merrymaking, re-
member: Buzzed driving is
drunk driving.
“The holidays should be
a time for celebrations and
for making memories, not
a time of nightmares for
families,” said Undersher-
iff Zach Mobley with the
Grant County Sheriff’s Of-
fice. “Unfortunately, alco-
hol at many holiday events
contributes to the number
of impaired drivers on our
roadways. Help us spread
the message: Even one
drink is one drink too many.
If you feel buzzed, you are
already drunk.”
According to NHTSA,
37,461 people were killed in
motor vehicle traffic crash-
es in 2016, and 28 percent
(10,497) of those fatalities
occurred in crashes during
which a driver had a blood
alcohol concentration over
the legal limit of 0.08. The
holidays prove to be ex-
tra dangerous to drivers as
more people – drivers and
pedestrians alike – are out
on the roads.
“We want to keep our
roads safe this holiday sea-
son and help people under-
stand that the only time they
should be behind the wheel
is when they are sober,” said
Mobley. “Alcohol affects
people differently, and you
do not have to be feeling or
acting drunk to be too im-
paired to drive.”
Drinking and driving
should never be combined.
It’s essential to plan a sober
ride in advance if the holi-
day celebration will include
alcohol. The alternative
could change your life, not
to mention the lives of your
passengers, or of other pe-
destrians or drivers and pas-
sengers nearby.
This holiday season, the
Grant and Wheeler county
sheriff’s offices and NHT-
SA urge drivers to designate
a sober driver before head-
ing out for the evening. If
you plan on drinking, plan
on not driving.
Remember these tips for
a safe night on the roads:
• Plan ahead. You know
whether you’ll attend a par-
ty. If you plan to drink, plan
for a sober driver to take
you home. Is it your turn
to be the designated driver?
Take that role seriously –
your friends are relying on
you.
• Remember that it is
never OK to drink and
drive. Even if you’ve only
had one alcoholic beverage,
designate a sober driver.
• If you see a drunk driv-
er on the road, contact local
law enforcement.
• See someone who is
about to drink and drive?
Take the keys away and
make arrangements to get
them home safely. Don’t
worry about offending
someone – they’ll thank you
later.
Remember to play it safe
this holiday season and al-
ways plan your sober ride
before the festivities begin.
If you are buzzed, do not
drive. Buzzed driving is
drunk driving.
For more information,
visit www.trafficsafetymar-
keting.gov.
Attention Grant County Veterans:
See your Grant County Veteran Services
Officer today for more information,
located at Grant County Court House.
Katee
Hoffman
the
Call 541-620-8057
for an appointment
06175
corner’s
SH T
HOT
EEK
OF THE W
EO Media Group
The May crash in Wheel-
er County that claimed three
lives was criminal, Sheriff
Chris Humphreys and District
Attorney Gretchen Ladd stat-
ed, in spite of what other law
enforcement agencies found.
And Lisa Niehaus, 50, of
Condon, will do 23 months in
state prison for the crimes.
Niehaus pleaded guilty
Nov. 21 to three counts of
fourth-degree assault, two
counts of third-degree assault
and three counts of criminal-
ly negligent homicide. The
judge sentenced her to 23
months in prison.
Ladd in a joint written
statement with Humphreys
called the case one of the most
catastrophic in her career.
“The charging decision
was a difficult one,” accord-
ing to Ladd. “Even the Ore-
gon State Police and prose-
cutors at the Department of
Justice are divided on wheth-
er this was a traffic ticket for
careless driving or criminal-
ly negligent homicide. We
believe now, as then, that
this was a crime. Criminally
negligent homicide requires
prosecutors to prove in court
facts constituting something
more than careless. Case law
is fact driven and a matter of
degrees of negligence is not
easily identified even among
the experts.”
About 45 members of the
Gypsy Jokers Motorcycle
Club on May 2 at 10:30 p.m.
were driving on the John Day
Highway, passing through
Fossil to a motorcycle rally
at Bear Hollow Park. Niehaus
left the park rally five miles
away and was returning home
when she drove her passenger
car across the centerline into
the motorcyclists.
Contributed photo/Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office
A May crash near Fossil that caused the death of three motorcycle riders and multiple
injuries to others was ruled criminal by the Gilliam County District Attorney’s Office.
The crash resulted in the
death of two riders at the
scene, a third death weeks
later, and injuries to six riders
that included broken legs and
hips, as well as head injuries
and lower leg amputations.
“The survivors and their
families are having to adapt to
the physical, mental and emo-
tional injuries of this cata-
strophic life changing event,”
Humphreys and Ladd stated.
“This crash scene was cha-
otic,” Humphreys and Ladd
stated. “Lisa Niehaus was
trapped in the car. First re-
sponders tried to render aid
for victims. The responders
expressed grave concern for
the safety of Lisa Niehaus.
Several statements by some
riders indicated Lisa Nie-
haus’s safety was in question.
First responders noted the
scene was extremely vola-
tile.”
Niehaus made two calls
just after the crash. Noise in-
terrupted the first, according
to the statement, and during
the second Niehaus told her
friend she was in a crash and
“being beaten.”
Law enforcement sought
search warrants, and the court
approved some but denied
others, including a warrant
for Niehaus’ blood and urine
the day after the crash. Hum-
phreys and Ladd said Niehaus
was not in custody overnight,
and without a drug recogni-
tion expert to confirm she was
impaired when she crashed, a
toxicology report alone is not
sufficient to prove she was un-
der the influence at the time.
Eyewitnesses and evi-
dence show Niehaus steered
across the center line into the
oncoming lane. She had a dog
on her lap, a cellphone with-
in reach and marijuana in the
car, according to Humphreys
and Ladd. She claimed the
motorcycle headlights blinded
her and she closed her eyes.
Evidence showed most of the
headlamps on the bikes were
on low beam.
Humphreys and Ladd re-
ported several state agencies
assisted in the case, and sever-
al considered the crash “mere-
ly an accident.”
Ladd’s office, then, “be-
came the sole advocate for the
victims in this horrific crash,
though others may not have
done the same.”
While the Oregon Consti-
tution provides specific rights
to crime victims, the law al-
lows exemptions if a court
finds the incident involves
elements of organized crime.
Ladd and Humphrey stated
the court ruled this case was
excepted from victim rights
protection.
That angered some of the
victims, family and friends in
this case and prompted com-
ments that cause concern for
the safety of the district attor-
ney and the victim assistant in
Wheeler County.
Even so, Ladd and Hum-
phrey stated that the crime
victims’ compensation rights
in the case were not suspend-
ed, and the district attorney’s
office continues to ensure
monetary compensation is
available to victims and their
families through the state’s
Crime Victims Compensation
Program.
Free safe-driving contest app available
A campaign created by
AAA Oregon/Idaho, ODOT
and the Oregon State Police
seeks to reduce distracted
driving: DriveHealthy, an app
that promotes friendly compe-
tition.
People can register at
DriveHealthy.org and com-
pete alone or in groups. People
can download a free app from
Lifesaver https://lifesaver-app.
com. Each month is a new op-
portunity to compete.
High scores result from not
opening a phone while driving.
At the end of each month, the
groups with the highest scores
win bragging rights on the
DriveHealthy website. Data
suggest that a recent similar
campaign in Boston reduced
distracted driving among par-
ticipants by 47 percent.
“We’re connected to each
other socially with technol-
ogy,” said ODOT Director
Matthew Garrett. “And the
fact is, that connection doesn’t
stop when we get behind the
wheel. So we want to replace
the addiction to the phone by
using those same social con-
nections, combined with im-
mediate feedback on driving
and friendly competition.”
A recent survey found that
while 69 percent of Orego-
nians are very uncomfortable
riding with a driver who is
sending a text message, 72
percent admit to driving dis-
tracted themselves. In Oregon,
on average, eight people are
hurt or killed by a distracted
driver each day. This has con-
tributed to the largest increase
in traffic fatalities in Oregon in
a decade.
DriveHealthy started as the
result of a statewide task force,
which also recommended
passage of tougher cellphone
laws. House Bill 2597 took
effect Oct. 1 and, among other
changes, increases the penalty
for using a mobile electronic
device while driving to $2,000.
“Our goal is lofty,” said
Garrett. “We want to change
cultural norms around distract-
ed driving like they changed
regarding seat belt use and
drunk driving. It took decades
to make significant progress
in those areas. Today things
change at internet speed so
I’m hopeful the norms around
driving healthy can become a
part of our culture quickly.”
For information, contact
Tom Fuller at 503-986-3455
or Thomas.Fuller@odot.state.
or.us.
Blue Mountain Eagle
EARLY DEADLINES
LUCAS MCKINLEY
School: Prairie City
Grade: 10
Parents: Jim & Connie McKinley
Sport: Basketball
Position: Shooting guard
for the January 3rd edition
Classified,
Legal & Display deadline
isThursday, December 28 th at
NOON
What I like best about my sport: “I like
the competitiveness and being pushed to
get better constantly.”
Coach’s Comment:
“Lucas plays extremely
aggressive defense
and keeps his head in
the game.”
- Coach Sam Workman
For more information or to place an
ad, call Kim at 541-575-0710.
Our office will be
CLOSED J anuar y 1st
PROUD SPONSOR OF GRANT COUNTY ATHLETES
100 E. Main • Stoplight in John Day
541-792-0425
Condon woman gets 23 months
for killing three people in crash
Blue Mountain Eagle
Did you know Grant County Veterans
Services Officer is available to assist
YOU in applying for all VA benefits
you may be entitled to?
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
32023
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SPUR
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MT. VERNON • 541-932-4545
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O ffer valid until May 31, 2018