graham.car.jpg
Sherri Graham's car at the accident scene.
(Clackamas County Sheriff's Office)
Alex Gregory Richards was drunk when he rounded a long curve on a rural road near Estacada.
He drifted into oncoming traffic and crashed head on into a car driven by 53-year-old Sherri Graham, instantly killing her.
The deadly encounter, it turned out, wasn't between two strangers.
Richards went to high school with Sherri Graham's daughter, Jordyn. Graham was a close friend of Richards' mother.
Alex Gregory Richards
The two families were in a Clackamas County courtroom Thursday morning when Richards, 23, was sentenced to four years and two months in prison for criminally negligent homicide.
Richards also pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of intoxicants – his blood alcohol level was .13 three hours after the crash – and sentenced to five years of probation, to be served when he's released from prison.
Richards was at an informal gathering at his home on Nov. 2, 2013. He had been drinking and using marijuana, said prosecutor Stacey Borgman.
After an argument with a sibling, Richards drove off around 11 p.m. heading to a nearby church parking lot where he intended to cool down, Borgman said. On the way, he crashed into Graham's car.
"This was not a tragic accident. It was a crime," Presiding Judge Robert Herndon reminded the families. "It would not have occurred if he had not consumed alcohol and crossed the center line."
The sentencing, attended by about 25 people, was a tearful affair.
"It was one of the most moving sentencings I've been a part of," the judge said afterward.
Richards apologized and recalled Sherri Graham as a wonderful, kindhearted person.
Jordyn Graham hugged a weeping Richards.
"There were lots of tears in the courtroom," Herndon said. "I was close myself."
"The victim's family truly forgave the defendant for what he did and the defendant's family understood the sentence he got," the judge said after the hearing.
The expressions of forgiveness and remorse were genuine, Herndon said. "You don't see that very often."
Richards faced a manslaughter charge, a more serious crime, but admitted to criminally negligent homicide as part of a plea deal.
Richards is young, had no prior criminal history or drunken driving convictions, took immediate steps to get substance abuse treatment and followed through with the program, Borgman said.
-- Steve Mayes
503-294-5916; @ocmayes