Court documents indicate the driver in the deadly March 17 crash that killed a pedestrian is believed to have been high on marijuana, and that the pedestrian was crossing at the green-light crosswalk.
The incident happened early in the morning on March 17, when a driver at Southwest 178th hit a pedestrian and then a power pole, according to police and a KATU photojournalist at the scene.
The driver, identified as Emanuel Starr, 28, was arrested. The victim, Norman Eck Jr, 59, died at the scene.
In Starr's probable cause affadavit, the responding deputy writes that a witness stated Eck Jr was crossing on a crosswalk during the pedestrian green light, meaning he had right-of-way. Starr then allegedly failed to stop at the red light, ran through the crosswalk, and hit and killed Eck Jr before crashing into a power pole. Witnesses said Starr made no attempt to stop the car.
Starr was taken to the hospital, and the documents say that his medical injury CAT scans came back all clear. A deputy with Starr said he smelled marijuana on his breath, as well as that Starr had thick, slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. The deputy states that Starr admitted to smoking marijuana that night. The deputy also said that he believed Starr to be visibly and noticeable impaired.
The document reports that Starr blamed the incident on vehicle malfunction. He had blood and urine samples taken at the hospital.
Units on the scene of the crash also confirmed that there were no tire skid marks indicating an attempted stop at the scene of the crash.
Due to the evidence at hand, Starr was arrested and booked into jail on charges of Manslaughter II, DUII, and Reckless Driving.