Driver indicted in Patterson Street collision that killed UO student on bike

This story has been updated with information about the driver voluntarily appearing in court and pleading not guilty, after a previous update in which an arrest warrant was issued.

A 20-year-old man faces charges including manslaughter in connection with a collision that killed a University of Oregon doctoral student riding a bicycle across Patterson Street in Eugene.

A Lane County grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday, July 22, charging Angel Gabriel Martinez with second-degree manslaughter, alleging he “recklessly” caused the death of Erick Njue, an international student from Kenya.

Online court records show an arrest warrant was issued for Martinez. He voluntarily appeared July 27 was arrested and booked into Lane County Jail, and has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. A security bond of $175,000 was set July 28, which requires a payment of 10%, or $17,500, before release.

Njue, 30, died Jan. 25 after being hit as he headed west on East 22nd Avenue across Patterson Street just before 1:30 p.m., according to court documents.

Martinez drove an Infiniti G35 southbound on Patterson Street at an estimated speed of 50 mph, double the limit, according to a search warrant application filed in court days after the January collision. It cited witness statements and a dashcam video from a vehicle that was passed by Martinez.

The indictment also charges Martinez with two misdemeanors: second-degree criminal mischief and reckless endangerment of another person. The criminal mischief charge relates to property damage in excess of $500, according to the indictment.

A few hundred people attended a Jan. 30 memorial for Njue, a former high school teacher in Kenya studying special education. Friends at the memorial remembered him as a leader within the UO community. 

Student-led safety initiatives in the months after his death included placing signs along Patterson Street warning drivers to slow down and be watchful for students. The city of Eugene also responded, developing a new plan with student input that reduces traffic lanes on Patterson Street near the UO campus and installs flexible plastic bollards for a curbside bicycle lane.