Matthew Ingle guilty for role in fatal crash
Ingle sentenced to 20 years in state hospital
Submitted photo / Estacada News
A 1987 Toyota 4-Runner driven by Estacada resident Matthew Ingle collided with a 2005 Toyota Corolla driven by Eagle Creek resident Pamela Benson on Highway 26 west of Sandy on April 25. Benson and her 11-year-old daughter Clarice were killed in the accident. In light of his history of mental illness prior to the crash, a Clackamas County judge sentenced Ingle to 20 years at a state hospital.
Judge Thomas J. Rastetter entered a judgment of guilty except for insanity for Matthew D. Ingle, 18, of Estacada for two charges of second-degree manslaughter and one charge of driving under the influence of intoxicants.
The charges stemmed from an April collision in which Ingle, driving a 1987 Toyota 4Runner sport utility vehicle, crashed into a 2005 Toyota Corolla driven by Pamela L. Benson, 42, of Eagle Creek at the intersection of Highway 26 and Orient Drive.
Benson’s 11-year-old daughter, Clarice, was a passenger in the car. Both Pamela and Clarice Benson died in the accident.
Judge Rastetter’s judgment was handed down on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Clackamas County Courthouse.
Ingle waived his right to a jury trial in the case, while his attorney, Terrance McCauley, and Deputy District Attorney Steven Mygrant agreed on the facts of the incident, including that there was an underlying mental illness that made Ingle unable to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law at that time.
Rastetter committed Ingle to 20 years at the state hospital; two consecutive 10-year terms for the manslaughter charges, and a one-year term for the DUII charge that will run concurrent with the two other terms. Ingle has been in custody since the fatal wreck.
Ingle also plead guilty for attempting to elude a police officer, unlawful possession of a firearm, reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person, for which he was sentenced to five years probation.
The incidents involving those charges preceded the onset of Ingle’s mental illness, while Ingle was found to be able to assist his lawyer.
The accident
Benson was attempting a left turn from Orient Drive onto eastbound Highway 26. Witnesses told investigating officers that Ingle failed to stop for a red traffic light as he passed through the intersection on westbound Highway 26, colliding with Benson’s vehicle on the driver’s side.
Pamela Benson was using safety restraints, according to Oregon State Police reports, but was pronounced dead at the scene. Her daughter was in the right-rear seat at the time of the accident and was transported by LifeFlight to OHSU where she was pronounced dead.
Passersby helped Ingle out of his damaged vehicle. He had been wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision.
Mygrant told the court that an investigation into the accident showed that blood taken from Ingle, along with testimony from Ingle, revealed he was under the influence of marijuana, anti-depression medication and anti-psychotic medication at the time.
Ingle reportedly had smoked the marijuana within two hours of the accident.
Ingle was “in that window of impairment” from the drugs when the accident occurred, Mygrant noted, adding that the medications had a “compounded effect” to the marijuana.
The investigation also revealed that Ingle had admitted himself three times in the month leading up to the collision to hospital psychiatric wards in the Portland area. He was diagnosed with a psychotic disorder and released.
During the investigation following the accident, Mygrant reported, an Oregon State Trooper interviewed Ingle and found he was hallucinating and believed aliens contributed to the crash, and that Ingle took steps, including eating Pepcid AC, to protect himself from the devil.
The investigation also revealed that a friend of Ingle’s reported that Ingle would “zone out” while driving and had previously run stop signs.
An evaluation performed by the state mental hospital concluded that Ingle was hallucinating regularly and delusional up to 30 days prior to the accident and that Ingle suffers from schizophrenia. Mygrant added that an independent psychiatrist scrutinized the report “tremendously.”
Mygrant also noted that John Benson, Pamela’s husband and Clarice’s father, endorsed the agreement. Kathy Pollock, John Benson’s mother, addressed the court with a statement and read poems that Clarice Benson had written.
“The ones that you stole are the ones that are showing you mercy,” Pollock read from a statement from her son. “To me you are nothing.”
As spectators in the courtroom held back tears, Pollock told the court that Pamela and Clarice Benson made and sold tie-dyed clothing and sold them at a Saturday market so that Clarice could learn business skills. Pamela Benson was a speech pathologist who worked with children, and, Pollock said, her co-workers reported “she had a great gift and used it well.”
Pollock added that Clarice “was the apple of her father’s eye and a helpful big sister” to her younger brother. Clarice was a member of 4-H and an avid reader, as evidenced by her checking out 2,200 books out of the Sandy Library in the last four years.
“Mr. Ingle, the family’s hope is that you will never forget the faces of Pam and Clarice Benson,” Pollock said. “We have no room in our heart for hate because hate destroys.”
McCauley, who noted that he has children and grandchildren, said the accident “couldn’t be more tragic” and that Ingle recognized the enormity of what happened. He also added that Ingle was attempting to turn himself in on the earlier charges at the time of the accident.
“I’m terribly sorry about everything that’s happened,” a bearded Ingle said near the end of the proceeding.