From The World Newspaper 

Powers teen charged in vehicle crash death of NB man

By Hallie Winchell, Staff Writer
Thursday, March 30, 2006 2:05 PM PST

The trial begins Monday for a Powers girl charged in connection with the Jan. 13 death of a North Bend man.

Nena R. Lewis, 17, was the driver of the vehicle that crashed into a creek off the Agness/Powers Highway, about nine miles south of Powers. A passenger in the vehicle, Elliott E. Gregor, was seriously injured in the crash and taken to Bay Area Hospital. He was later airlifted to a Portland-area hospital, where he died.

According to Assistant District Attorney Karen McClintock, since Gregor died in the crash, Lewis is charged with failure to perform the duties of a driver in an injury accident, a B felony.

Such a charge means that a driver unlawfully and knowingly fails to remain on scene of an accident to be sure reasonable assistance, such as emergency transport to medical facilities, has been provided to an injured passenger.

If she is found guilty of the charge, Lewis' maximum sentence would be attending the state training school until she's 25, McClintock said.

Lewis also could be placed on probation for a period of up to five years, and could be required to perform community service, have a mental health evaluation or be placed in residential treatment.

Lewis has not been charged with manslaughter, McClintock said, as the DA's office is unable to prove she was driving recklessly or acting recklessly prior to leaving the scene.

“Not every traffic accident we have results in a manslaughter charge. We have to prove that it qualifies as a manslaughter charge. We can't do that in this case,” McClintock said.

Lewis is being charged as a juvenile, and the Coos County Juvenile Department will be overseeing the case, she added.

From The World Newspaper
Thursday, April 6, 2006  

DA seeks settlement in car crash case  

By Hallie Winchell, Staff Writer  

A Powers girl charged in connection with the Jan. 13, death of a North Bend man, appeared in juvenile court Monday for a preliminary hearing.

 Nena R. Lewis, 17, was the driver of a vehicle that crashed into a creek off the Agness/Powers Highway , about nine miles south of Powers. A passenger in the vehicle, Elliott E. Gregor, 24, of North Bend , was seriously injured in the crash and taken to Bay Area Hospital . He was later airlifted to a Portland-area hospital, where he died.

 According to Coos County Assistant District Attorney Karen McClintock, since Gregor died in the crash, Lewis is charged with failure to perform the duties of a driver in an injury accident. The charge would be a B felony if Lewis were being prosecuted as an adult. Instead the charge is considered the equivalent of a B felony and carries more weight than a lesser juvenile charge.

 To fail to perform the duties of a driver in an injury accident means that a driver unlawfully and knowingly failed to remain on scene of an accident to be sure reasonable assistance, such as emergency transport to medical facilities, was provided to an injured passenger.

 Appearing with her attorney Nick Nylander, of North Bend , Lewis received an explanation of her rights from Judge Richard Barron, who oversees the Coos County Family Court and juvenile cases.

 The court set April 17 as the date for the DA and Lewis' counsel to reach a settlement before the trial date is set. This is the standard procedure in all cases, said Coos County District Attorney Paul Burgett, as it saves the court time and money to provide a window for settlement discussions.

 “Trials are expensive. And sometimes there isn't a whole lot of dispute about what happened, and a settlement is easily reached,” Burgett said. “Most DA offices around the country settle about 90 percent of their cases.”

 Although Burgett said he is not certain if a settlement will be reached in Lewis' case, he said his office will pursue all options after reviewing the details of the case.

 Nylander declined to comment.

 While a settlement would be a compromise between the DA's office and Lewis, if she is found under the jurisdiction of the court, as juvenile defendants are not ruled guilty or innocent, she would face a maximum sentence that would require her to live and attend the state training school until she's 25, McClintock said. Lewis also could be placed on probation for a period of up to five years, and could be required to perform community service, have a mental health evaluation or be placed in residential treatment.

 Lewis has not been charged with manslaughter, McClintock said, as the DA's office is unable to prove she was driving recklessly or acting recklessly prior to leaving the scene.

 “Not every traffic accident we have results in a manslaughter charge. We have to prove that it qualifies as a manslaughter charge. We can't do that in this case,” McClintock said.

 Lewis will appear in court again at 9:30 a.m. , on Monday, April 17.

Closure to a sad search

From The World Newspaper
 May 10, 2006

Teen gets seven-year sentence in crash

By Hallie Winchell, Staff Writer

A Powers teen was sentenced to seven years at the state training school for the Jan. 13 death of a North Bend man.

Nena R. Lewis, 17, was the driver of a car that crashed into a creek off the Agness/Powers Highway, about nine miles south of Powers. A passenger in the vehicle, Elliot E. Gregor, 22, of North Bend, was seriously injured in the crash and taken to Bay Area Hospital. He later was airlifted to a Portland-area hospital, where he died.

Lewis was charged with failure to perform the duties of a driver in an injury accident, and pleaded guilty to the charge on April 17. According to Coos County Assistant District Attorney Karen McClintock, to fail to perform the duties of a driver in an injury accident means that a driver unlawfully and knowingly failed to remain on scene of an accident to be sure reasonable assistance, such as emergency transport to medical facilities, was provided to an injured passenger.

Appearing Tuesday in Coos County Juvenile Court, with her attorney Nick Nylander, of North Bend, Lewis appeared very nervous and was obviously shaken by the harsh facts of the case, presented by McClintock prior to the sentencing.

According to McClintock, following the crash on Jan. 13, Lewis walked 10 miles to her mother's home in Powers, past many houses and businesses that could have offered a telephone or assistance, and she did not seek help for Gregor.

The only reason Gregor received any medical attention was due to a woman living across the river, who heard the crash and since she did not have a home phone, rowed her boat over the river to her car, and drove to town so she could report the accident. After the crash was reported, emergency vehicles drove out to find Gregor, passing Lewis on the road, who offered no directions or assistance to the responding emergency personnel, McClintock said.

Lewis, who did not have a driver's license at the time of the crash and had driven only a few times, was found at home six hours later. She did not report the crash or Gregor's condition to police or emergency personnel, and told investigators her injuries were caused by a topple from a trampoline.

“She offered no assistance to Elliot Gregor, who she left trapped in the car, dying. She left him to die and walked away,” McClintock said.

Nylander expressed Lewis' regret and remorse to the Gregor family. He also made a final effort to convince Judge Richard Barron that a harsh punishment would serve no purpose and could only hurt Lewis, who already had been struggling in school under the strain of the court case for the last five months.

“The accident occurred due to an inexperienced driver,” Nylander said. “Ms. McClintock's comment that she did not try to help Elliot Gregor is not true. She did try to get him out of the car, but she couldn't. It took a great deal of effort for emergency crews to extricate him from the vehicle.”

Lewis asked to address the court Tuesday morning. She started to apologize to the Gregor family, before breaking down into tears, her voice quavering as she struggled to finish.

“I didn't think he was going to die, I thought he was going to be OK,” she said, voice trembling as she struggled not to cry. “If I could take back the clock I would, but I can't. And I have to live with that.”

Although she had only known Gregor for a few weeks, she said she thought of him as a friend. She considered herself lucky to have known someone like Elliot, who was “one of the most respectful people I've ever known,” Lewis added.

Gregor's family was in the courtroom Tuesday, and spoke on his behalf.

Martha Gregor shared her grief at the manner in which her son died, sending Lewis into fresh sobs.

“For four months, I have wakened from the night and wondered if he knew he was abandoned. If he was in pain, and if someone held his hand while he died,” she said.

Dr. Gary Gregor also spoke and thanked the many people who worked diligently to save his son, even though he was unresponsive when emergency personnel found him.

“Nena, I can see you're remorseful and I appreciate that,” Gregor said. “But I want to remind the court that you not only avoided the emergency vehicles, but avoided reporting the incident. What I'd like to know about are Elliot's last hours alive. I was kind of hoping he was having some fun.”

Barron took five minutes in his chambers to deliberate the sentence, leaving the courtroom in silence broken only by sobs and whispered conversation among Lewis' relatives and the Gregor family.

Returning to the courtroom, Barron said he was frustrated with the few options available for punishments in Lewis' case. Because Lewis was charged as a minor, even though she will turn 18 in June, Barron could sentence her to a few days in jail and probation, or find her to be under the jurisdiction of the court and send her to the state training school.

“For most of the time I've done this job, I like coming to work. But there are some days I don't,” Barron said to Lewis. “I'm faced with somebody who didn't cause the death of another, but who did nothing to stop it.”

Barron said that it is understandable that a young driver could have gotten in an accident, and it is understandable that Lewis panicked and was in shock. People find it difficult to understand the lack of human response that did not encourage Lewis to do something to help Gregor, he added.

“If you didn't report it, you think the next day he would have gotten himself out and walked home like you did?” Barron asked. “He's lost his life, so I don't think whether this situation is fair to you or not is the issue.”

Barron said he would follow the DA's recommendation to find Lewis under the jurisdiction of the court and send her to the state training school. Lewis was sentenced to the maximum punishment and sent to the school until she is 25, or paroled.

According to McClintock, Lewis could be paroled at any time during her sentence.

“I would expect, at a bare minimum she would serve a few months. But she could be there until she's 25,” she said. The state training school includes education, treatment and rehabilitation in a secure setting, she added.

By the time Barron completed his judgment, Lewis was sobbing almost uncontrollably. When the court bailiff placed her in handcuffs, Lewis was embraced by family members and comforted by Gary Gregor.

They all had tears in their eyes.