A 57-year-old Eugene man was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty Monday, June 8, to criminally negligent homicide in connection with a three-vehicle collision that killed a Springfield man on Interstate 5 south of Goshen last summer.

Kennith James Nelsen also pleaded guilty in Lane County Circuit Court to fourth-degree assault and recklessly endangering another person, both misdemeanors tied to the collision.

Kenneth Nicholas Thomas, 61, died at the scene of the 8 a.m. crash on July 29, 2025, state police said at the time.

A Dodge Caravan, driven by Nelsen, was traveling south on I-5, state police said. 

Nelsen tried to turn into an emergency vehicle turnaround from the slow lane, and the Caravan struck the side of a southbound Dodge Charger, which had swerved toward the median in an attempt to avoid the crash, state police said.

Thomas was a passenger in the Charger, driven by Timothy Brian Smith. The Charger veered into oncoming traffic, where it went beneath a Kenworth dump truck towing a loaded trailer, state police said. Court documents listed Smith, also of Springfield, as the person assaulted by Nelsen’s actions

A separate three-vehicle collision soon followed but with no injuries reported, state police said. The collisions led to a closure of the interstate for about three hours.

By secret indictment, Nelsen was charged Dec. 17, 2025, with second-degree manslaughter. Criminally negligent homicide is considered a lesser included offense to that charge, according to a judgment signed by Lane County Circuit Judge Charles Zennaché.

Zennaché also sentenced Nelsen to three years of post-prison supervision. A document filed in court by an attorney representing Nelsen said he had no criminal history before the collision.