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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Negligent Homicide |
Sentence: |
5 years probation and lifetime ban on driving |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2010 |
Year Convicted: |
2011 |
Year Cleared: |
2014 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Oregon |
County or Region of Crime: |
Curry |
City of Crime: |
Brookings |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Sierra Nicole Rigel was wrongly convicted in 2011 of negligent homicide and third-degree assault for falling asleep at 5 p.m. and allowing her car to cross the center line hitting a motorcycle rider traveling in the opposite direction on Highway 101 at Milepost 341 while she was driving home to Brookings, Oregon from Gold Beach, Oregon on September 15, 2010. After striking the motorcyclist Rigel's 2003 Ford Excursion hit a tree,and she was transported to Curry General Hospital in an ambulance. Milepost 341 is about 9 miles south of Gold Beach. Highway 101 is a two lane coastal highway with limited vehicle turnouts that runs parallel with the Pacific Ocean. At the time of the accident Rigel was a 17 year old high school student with a 4.0 GPA at Brookings-Harbor High School. Rigel told an officer at the scene and again at the hospital where she was taken that she suddenly became drowsy and immediately sought a place to pull over. Rigel was prosecuted as a minor in juvenile court. During her bench (judge only) trial the prosecution's case was Rigel was negligent for failing to pull over prior to hitting the motorcyclist. Curry County Juvenile Court Judge Cynthia Beaman found Rigel guilty, ruling her conduct consitituted criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault if committed by an adult. On May 2, 2011 Rigel was sentenced to about 5 years probation (until she was 23), banned for driving for life, ordered to perform 100 hours of community service, fined $214, and ordered to pay restitution. At the time of her sentencing Rigel had already completed more than 300 hours of community service. A month after her conviction Rigel graduated from Brookings-Harbor High School on June 11, 2011 as a Valedictorian of her senior class. On January 29, 2014 the Oregon Court of Appeal reversed Rigel's conviction on the basis the prosecution had failed to prove Rigel acted criminally negligent, because she acted with reasonable care as required by the law because as soon as she felt drowsy she began to look for a place to pull off the highway to rest. The Court also found that the trial judge's ruling wasn't based on the actual transcript of Rigel's statement to the police that was exculpatory, and the judge didn't give due weight to Rigel's traffic expert who testified a person can go from alert to drowsy in less than 60 seconds and her conduct was reasonable under the circumstances." |
Conviction Caused By: |
The prosecution relied on a faulty understanding of what constituted reckless conduct sufficient to qualify as negligent homicide. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On January 29, 2014 the Oregon Court of Appeal reversed Rigel's conviction on the basis the prosecution had failed to prove Rigel acted recklessly as required to be convicted of negligent homicide, because she acted with reasonable care as required by the law because as soon as she felt drowsy she began to look for a place to pull off the highway to rest" |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Female |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
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Information Source 1: |
"State of Oregon v. S.N.R., No. A148495 (Ore. Ct. of Appeals, 1-29-2014)" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/docs/A148495.pdf |
Information Source 2: |
"Court says sleep-driving strikes quickly: Teen driver who killed motorcyclist gets case overturned, By Aimee Green (Staff writer), The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.), January 29, 2014" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2014/01/court_says_sleep-driving_strik.html#incart_m-rpt-2 |
Information Source 3: |
"Judge: No license for teen driver who hit, killed motorcyclist, By Staff Writer, Curry Coastal Pilot (Brookings, Ore.), May 4, 2011" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.currypilot.com/News/Local-News/Judge-No-license-for-teen-driver-who-hit-killed-motorcyclist |
Information Source 4: |
"Oregon court tosses teen driver’s conviction, By Don Iler (Staff writer), Curry Coastal Pilot (Brookings, Ore.), January 31, 2014" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.currypilot.com/News/Local-News/Oregon-court-tosses-teen-drivers-conviction |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org