News

Update: Driver who hit cyclists was "a shy, peaceful person"

<img border="0" align="right" src=http://blog.oregonlive.com/news_impact/2009/04/large_Ben%20Ramsdell.JPG>Images of the injuries Ben Ramsdell sustained when he was deliberately hit by a car driven by Johnny Jerry Eschweiler in 2007

A 49-year-old driver who intentionally rammed his car into two bicyclists -- after one chided him for bad driving -- has avoided a prison sentence.

A Multnomah County Circuit Court judge found Johnny Jerry Eschweiler guilty except for insanity and said that Eschweiler shall live at home under the jurisdiction of the state Psychiatric Security Review Board for up to 15 years.

Eschweiler had been charged with two counts of attempted murder among other crimes and could have faced at least 7 1/2 years in prison if convicted without the insanity clause. The crash sent both cyclists to the hospital after they were struck while pedaling in a bike boulevard in the 1000 block of Southeast Clinton Street on Aug. 17, 2007.

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