The Lane County District Attorney announced Monday that no criminal charges will be filed against the driver who struck and killed three children in Springfield in February.
The investigation found that 68-year-old Larry LaThorpe was traveling at or around the speed limit when he unwittingly ran a red light, striking a mother and her three children in the crosswalk at 54th and Main Street. Oregon courts have ruled that brief inattention or errors in judgment are not sufficient to charge a person with criminal homicide. And the Lane County DA says there was not enough evidence to charge LaThorpe with criminally negligent homicide.
Killed in the accident were 8-year-old John Day, 5-year-old McKenzie Hudson and Tyler Hudson, age 4. Their 26-year-old mother, Cortney Hudson-Crawford, was in critical condition, but survived.
LaThorpe surrendered his driver's license in April, after being told it would be suspended indefinitely for medical reasons.