Salvador Jaime Guillen Contreras, 36, was sentenced to 75 months in prison for killing 19-year-old Hillsboro cyclist Connor Navarro.
Guillen Contreras pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide Oct. 16 in Washington County Circuit Court, the Washington County District Attorney's Office said, as first reported by the Hillsboro News Times. A judge also revoked his driver's license for life and ordered three years of post-prison supervision after his release.
The crash happened around 8:50 p.m. June 23 at the intersection of East Main Street and Northeast Century Boulevard near Noble Woods Park. Navarro was crossing in a crosswalk when Guillen Contreras ran the light and struck him, according to the district attorney's office. Navarro died at the scene.
The Washington County Crash Analysis and Reconstruction Team (CART) investigated. CART determined Guillen Contreras was traveling 64 mph in a 40 mph zone. The traffic signal had been red for about six seconds before he entered the intersection, prosecutors said.
An analysis of Guillen Contreras' phone showed he had been scrolling through social media and taking screenshots seconds before the collision. Multiple witnesses reported seeing him speeding and driving erratically beforehand. He was also driving without a valid license.
Prosecutors initially charged Guillen Contreras with second-degree manslaughter, a Measure 11 offense carrying a mandatory minimum of six years and three months, and reckless driving. The manslaughter charge was reduced to criminally negligent homicide, and the reckless driving charge was dismissed Oct. 16, according to court records. The 75-month sentence equals six years and three months.
Navarro, a Liberty High School valedictorian, had turned 19 in May and was training for a triathlon when he was killed, according to a GoFundMe page described by the Hillsboro Herald. His father, Philip, had died of brain cancer about 18 months earlier.
The crash prompted a wave of public testimony before the Hillsboro City Council. At the council's July 7 meeting, multiple residents urged the city to redesign the intersection with safety-focused improvements.
Neighbor Matt Ellenberger, who lives near East Main and Century Boulevard, was one of the first people on the scene the night Navarro was killed. He told the council the intersection had a history of crashes and called for physical roadway changes, according to council minutes.
In an Aug. 20 interview with KOIN, Ellenberger said the city had installed speed detection signs but that neighbors wanted more. "What we haven't seen is true plans and action," Ellenberger told KOIN at the time.
City data shared with KOIN showed 13 crashes at the intersection over the previous three years, including the one that killed Navarro. As of August, the city said it was considering speed cameras or additional enforcement measures.
Guillen Contreras will transfer to the Oregon Department of Corrections to serve his sentence, KATU reported.
