Woman who hit and killed teen during seizure pleads not guilty
HILLSBORO, Ore. - A driver who had a seizure, veered off the road and struck and killed a 17-year-old boy is facing a manslaughter charge.
Michelle Young, 41, pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday. A grand jury felt what happened was a crime because medication Young was taking at the time may have played a role in the crash.
Young had a seizure in September while behind the wheel and hit Max McGregor, who was walking home from school. The crash, which also sent Young's car into a fence and house, happened along Southwest 185th Avenue at Sandra Lane in Aloha.
Neighbor Sandie Abbot heard the crash from inside her house and immediately ran outside. She said the driver of the car was still in a seizure at that point.
"I knew she was seizing because I've had seizures in the past," Abbot said at the time. "I went up to the car and she was still pushing on the gas. I reached over her and turned the key off. I kept patting her arm, telling her it's going to be alright, what's your name ... stuff like that. Finally, about five minutes later, she came out of it."
Paramedics tried to save McGregor, but he died at the scene. He was just a block away from home.
According to the Washington County Sheriff's Office, Young had just been at the hospital that morning where she had been transported by ambulance for another seizure. A physician who treated her told her not to drive because she might have another one.
The sheriff's office said Young took a cab from the hospital to where her vehicle was parked and got behind the wheel just a few hours after leaving their care. That's when she suffered another seizure and crashed.
Young was later taken into custody after the District Attorney issued a warrant for her arrest. Earlier this week, a grand jury decided she should be charged with manslaughter. Young is being held at the Washington County Jail on $250,000 bail.
Max McGregor's mother, Peggy McGregor (pictured at right), feels the criminal charge against Young is just.
"Everything about this situation is impossible," she said. "There is nothing about this that is good or pleasing. But I'm gratified that the D.A. and the grand jury saw fit to hold her responsible for this."
"It's not just drugs or alcohol that can impair your ability to drive," she added. "When you have a medical condition and it impairs you, you are just as much a danger to other people."
Young was previously arrested on a DUII charge in 2008 (that's her 2008 mug shot on the right), in an incident that also involved her medications. Young's mother told KATU her daughter takes seizure medication, and pills for depression and anxiety.
"It just feels like if she'd listened to the advice of her doctor, my son wouldn't be dead," McGregor said.
McGregor has two other sons - one is a Marine serving overseas. She said out of her three boys, this is a death she absolutely did not see coming.
"My oldest son is in Afghanistan right now," she said. "Of course my thoughts tend toward that with him. I have a 21-year-old who is an adrenaline junkie. I'm always concerned is this going to be the crazy maniac activity where something happens. I never would have thought that having someone walk on the sidewalk was dangerous. And that was his last action."
About Max McGregor
Max (seen at right in a family photo) was a junior at Beaverton's Health and Science School, where he was focusing on engineering. His mother said he was particularly interested in aviation engineering.
Max also loved to draw and play video games, and family and friends said he was witty and compassionate.
"He always stood out, obviously because of his height, but he was such a sweet, genuine, loving, caring young man," Pastor Jeremy Stilwell said during a memorial that was held on Sept. 21, 2012 at Beaverton Foursquare Church.
"I'm really glad I got to meet him," Sierra, a fellow high school student, said at the memorial. "He was really caring and he was really funny. I loved his sense of humor and I'm just so sad that I can't be his friend anymore."
"Max was just so full of life," his mother said. "My house just seems empty. My life just kind of seems empty without him."
Peggy McGregor said she got one last hug from him the morning he died - only because Max had forgotten his bus pass.
"So I came down and let him in," she said. "And I said 'now that you got me out of bed, you have to hug me again.' So he kind of joked and gave me a big old hug, because he's a 17-year-old and reluctant to hug mom. I said 'have a good day' and that was the last time I saw him. I'm so grateful for that."
While I agree that she must be held accountable for this, I would bet a great deal of money that there is not one person who is screaming GUILTY, who has NOT driven while taking some kind of cold or flu medication that says not to drive while using it. Â
She deserves what she has coming to her. The nurse was clear about whether or not to drive...and she drove. I hope this family gets the justice they deserve.
I don't get it. You hit and killed a teen. How are you not guilty? What a waste of taxpayers money. I hear DUI manslaughter in the near future.
Guilty with a side of denial and insanity on the side.
This is a tragedy on several levels. My thoughts and prayers are with Max's family. They are also with the Young family.
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With the earlier seizure and her medications, was she able to know the risk she was taking by driving? (If the answer is no, then in Oregon, she can't be convicted.)
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Did the physician say "Don't drive."? Or did he say something highly temporized like " You probably should wait a while before driving."? There's a huge difference there.
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The idea that since she had one seizure, she shouldn't drive for a while is completely asinine. As long as there is a possibility, she should not drive again, period (personal opinion). But the law doesn't work that way.
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Lastly, I don't think jail time serves any constructive purpose here, other then to burn up public resources. I think house arrest and restitution is a better idea. (Yes, I know real restitution is impossible, but I still think in this case it's a better effort at rehabilitation by taking responsibility then prison would be.)
"My house just seems empty. My life just kind of seems empty without him."
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My heart aches for this poor mother. Her loss was preventable and senseless. What a terrible tragedy. It's hard to be sympathetic toward the driver who not only was advised by her doctor not to drive, but had a past history of problems with the medication and driving. That has to be the worst part for this poor mother.
Sorry to those who responded to my post. My bad. I guess I missed the one sentence where it stated that the doctor at the hospital advised her not to drive. I guess I better start reading articles a little more closely. Given what I know now, a charge of manslaughter seems appropriate.
"According to the Washington County Sheriff's Office, Young had just been at the hospital that morning where she had been transported by ambulance for another seizure. A physician who treated her told her not to drive because she might have another one."
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This is prima facie evidence that will convict her.
 @RalphCramden It should convict her.  It is bad enough to drive if you know your medication is not preventing breakthrough seizures, but to do so the same day you have had one?!  That is playing with fire.  Sure, perhaps she has a little less guilty in that she was impaired and not on purpose; but she knew she had this condition and was told not to drive.  I believe she should be convicted.
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A perfect argument. You should be the prosecuting attorney.....8-}
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I agree 100%.
You can't believe everything you hear on the radio, see on TV or read online or in print, however, if this story has been told truthfully they should skip the trial and go directly to the penalty phase
That's silly. Of course she's guilty.
Throw the book at her. She deserves it.
It would be nice to know what advice this woman's doctors gave her - not just when she left the hospital but also when she started taking all of these meds. Did they tell she shouldn't drive? If they didn't and this woman was talking medication to control seizures but the medicine wasn't adequate, I'm not sure you can blame this woman with knowledge and intent. Perhaps this is only a very tragic accident. A young boy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.Â
 @peckishpete It really doesn't matter what the doctors gave her.  She had a seizure in the morning.  She had no business driving, then, or perhaps even for a few more days to see if the medication stopped the breakthrough seizures.Â
 @peckishpete While it is true that this was a tragedy, it's upsetting to hear it said that the boy who was killed was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The boy was walking home from his school bus, on the sidewalk, approximately 300 feet from his home. There is police testimony that the driver was in fact told not to drive, and that she told the hospital personnel that she had a licensed driver with her, who would drive her home. Actually, this was not true. The person with her was not a licensed driver, and she dropped the passenger off at his home before hitting and killing a wonderful kid, who was in the RIGHT place at the RIGHT time, doing exactly the RIGHT thing, and he should have been perfectly safe. I'm sure it was inconvenient for the driver to no longer be able to drive, but she was perfectly aware of her impairment, and should bear the same penalty as any other person who chooses to drive while impaired and kills an innocent bystander.
 @peckishpete The woman was taken to the hospital by ambulance for having a previous seizure.  She WAS advised to NOT drive when she was discharged.  She took a taxi cab to her car, when to drive, had another seizure and now a young and upcoming 17 year old is dead.
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COMMON SENSE would already tell you "Hey I just had a seizure, might not want to get behind the wheel for a while". Â Instead, she ignored better judgement and killed the kid.
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Manslaughter is the perfect charge. Â It will stick because she is CLEARLY guilty of that with the basic facts presented above in the article. Â It was clear negligence and she took another life has a consequence.
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 But now the fact she is pleading not guilty should also show a clear lack of remorse and accountability for her perilous actions.  At this point, I feel she deserves a 2nd degree murder charge and nothing less.  By definition, it best describes her actions.
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 @Silver Surfer  @peckishpete I agree that she should be charged with something. I'm just not sure if Manslaughter (ORS 163.118) is going to be convictable.Â
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From what I'm reading, the prosecuting attorney is hedging upon the idea that her medications were the cause for the accident;
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'A grand jury felt what happened was a crime because medication Young was taking at the time may have played a role in the crash.'
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That's going to require them to prove (within a reasonable doubt) to jurors that the medications did cause the crash that killed Mr McGregor. Now, the 'up' side to the charge is that it is not necessary for them to depend exclusively upon the drugs for a conviction. I also notice this in the statute;
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a)It is committed recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life;
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It could be argued that a 'reasonable' person, given the circumstances (just having been released for a seizure & being advised by the treating physician that she shouldn't drive), her actions would constitute 'extreme indifference'.Â
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Sad state of affairs all the way around. Unfortunately, no criminal remedy will bring Mr McGregor back.Â
I believe the driver of the car knew the risks of driving with her medical issues and still chose to drive...... she should spend some time in the poky for taking someones life. Â
First of all this is a profoundly heartbreaking incident. Secondly, what is the role of the medical community here?Â
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I remember reading she was returning home from the hospital. Was she told or advised not to drive? Does a doctor have any liability if medicine is prescribed that leads to a condition that endangers innocent members of the public?
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Just don't know.
 @xilef regnu Regarding medication - I'm pretty sure that the doctors and pharmacies are not typically liable for people who do not follow the instructions with the meds (like the ones that say do not drive or operate heavy machinery while taking). My doc told me that it is absolutely possible to get a DUI while taking legally prescribed medications - although it is nowhere near as black and white as measuring BAC, impaired is still impaired and it is the individual's responsibility.
"It's not just drugs or alcohol that can impair your ability to drive," she added. "When you have a medical condition and it impairs you, you are just as much a danger to other people."
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A very wise statement from the mom of the boy who was killed.Â