A 49-year-old man was sentenced Monday, July 20, to three years in prison for killing a 62-year-old woman in a 2022 vehicle collision on Highway 99 in Eugene.

Curtis Dewayne Smith, of Eugene, was driving a 2009 Dodge 2500 pickup truck north and struck a Toyota RAV4 just north of Royal Avenue as the Toyota crossed the northbound lanes, according to published reports and court records. 

The June 26, 2022, collision killed Diane Marie Davis and fractured the pelvis and ribs of Davis’ daughter, a passenger in the Toyota, according to published reports and court documents.

“The forensics in this case indicate Mr. Smith was likely driving approximately 80 miles an hour,” according to a court document filed by defense attorneys for Smith. The current speed limit for that section of road is 40 mph.

Smith, whose son-in-law was a passenger in the Dodge and also was injured in the crash, pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide, third-degree assault and fourth-degree assault, court records show. Smith agreed to a stipulated facts trial that resulted in the formal guilt finding.

Before Monday’s sentencing hearing, defense attorneys in court documents stated that Smith was not impaired by any substances and that Davis’ insurance found her to be at fault for failing to yield the right of way.

The sentencing memo by the attorneys also stated that Davis, who died July 3, 2022, about a week after the crash, was found to have THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and benzodiazepines in her blood. Eugene police said Davis was leaving a cannabis shop when the Toyota began crossing Highway 99, according to published reports.

Smith had a criminal history before the collision that included unlawfully using a vehicle, but defense attorneys said he successfully completed post-prison supervision in 2022.

Lane County Circuit Judge Debra Velure ordered the sentence, which is to be followed by three years of post-prison supervision.