Criminal Charges Filed Against Driver Accused Of Killing 11-Year-Old Boy

By Donald Orr (OPB)
Jan. 8, 2020 7:55 p.m.

A driver who hit and killed an 11-year-old boy on his way to school in Gresham has been charged.

Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced Tuesday the filing of a four-count charging document against 26-year-old Garrett Bergquist, who is accused of running a red light and crashing into a boy who was walking to school.

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The boy, identified as Luis Medina, died as a result of the crash — he was a sixth grader at Dexter McCarty Middle School.

KOIN reports investigators determined Medina had a green light and the right of way as he was crossing the street in a marked crosswalk Monday morning.

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Law enforcement reviewed a video of the incident that a community member had from a dashboard-mounted camera. Witnesses told police that the driver ran a red light at the intersection at a high speed as he traveled southbound on Southeast Hogan Street.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said the impact of the crash tossed Medina approximately 80 feet. A drug recognition evaluator with Oregon State Police “determined Bergquist was impaired by central nervous system depressants and narcotic pain relievers to the point at which he could not safely operate a motor vehicle,” according to court documents.

Bergquist now faces manslaughter, reckless driving, and DUII charges.

According to court records, this isn’t Bergquist’s first DUII offense — he pleaded guilty in 2015 to driving under the influence. Bergquist completed a diversion program in 2016.

John Koch is the executive director of K-12 Education in the Gresham-Barlow school district. He said schools has trained flight teams to respond to student and staff for crisis support.

“[Y]ou have to refocus and say, ‘how are we going to support the community?’ and then you activate the systems that we have in place to support students, staff and the community,” Koch said. “It’s just tragic that we had to activate those systems.”

The case is being investigated by the Gresham Police Department and the East County Vehicular Crimes Team.

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