2 weeks Ago By Zane Sparling
A driver who crashed into a pedestrian crossing Southeast 82nd Avenue and then kept going was sentenced to four years in state prison last week. Witnesses saw a white hatchback traveling at a “very high rate of speed” through a construction zone when it smashed into Edward Hanson as he crossed the busy thoroughfare near Southeast Flavel Street about 2 a.m.
Feb. 5, 2024, court records say. Hanson, a Rex Putnam High School graduate who was less than 24 hours shy of his 45th birthday, died of his injuries, leaving behind three children.
Hours later, a 911 caller reported hearing Skylar Lee-Stiles loudly talking on the phone as he removed the license plates from his crumpled Subaru Impreza in front of a Southeast 92nd Avenue apartment, according to a probable cause affidavit. Lee-Stiles “believed he had hit a person and that he may have killed him,” the 911 caller said, according to the affidavit. The now 27-year-old was arrested after being contacted by police and turning himself in.
On April 9, he pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide, hit-and-run and reckless endangerment under the terms of a plea deal Multnomah County Circuit Judge Christopher Marshall sentenced him to four years in state prison. At the hearing, several of Hanson’s children said his sudden death had caused untold pain and spiraling troubles in their own lives. His sister, Honey Stone, told the judge Hanson was “one of the most kind-hearted, empathetic persons you’ll never have the pleasure of meeting.
” “He was the only one that stood up for me” growing up, she recalled. Lee-Stiles declined to address the family and is now in custody at the state prison intake center. —Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Reach him at 503-319-7083, [email protected] or @pdxzane . Our journalism needs your support.
Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe ..
