John Carlgren

Carlton resident John Carlgren pleaded guilty Thursday in Umatilla County Circuit Court to four counts of first-degree manslaughter and one count of driving under the influence of intoxicants.

The 47-year-old defendant, living at 220 E. Washington St. at the time, also faced four counts of second-degree manslaughter in the case. The charges stemmed from an October crash that claimed four lives east of Pendleton on Interstate 84.

First-degree manslaughter is a Class A felony. Falling under Measure 11, it carries a mandatory-minimum sentence of 10 years in prison with no possibility of early release.

Carlgren, who had been scheduled to go on trial Monday, will undergo sentencing at 9 a.m. Friday, July 24.
He faces a minimum of 10 to 40 years on the manslaughter counts, depending on whether the judge runs the terms concurrently or consecutively.

Carlgren could get additional time based on the DUII count and several enhancement factors that he has formally acknowledged — that the incident involved multiple victims, that it caused an unusually significant degree of harm, that he had previously committed similar offenses, that prior criminal justice sanctions had not deterred him and that he had demonstrated persistent disregard for Oregon traffic laws.

A Eugene man who pleaded guilty earlier this week to first-degree manslaughter and other charges, stemming from a drunken driving crash that claimed four lives in January, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Two adults and two children died in that crash, and a 10-year-old boy was critically injured.

Deputy District Attorney Dean Gushwa said Carlgren initiated the change in plea. He said the prosecution and defense had not cut any deals, so sentencing terms in the case would be open to argument.

Carlgren has four previous convictions for drunken driving, dating back to 1983, according to the Oregon Judicial Information Network.

He was first convicted of DUII in Washington County in 1983. He was convicted of DUII twice more in Washington County in 1991. Two years later, he was convicted a fourth time in Yamhill County.

His driver’s license was suspended as a result of the 1991 cases and revoked as a result of the 1993 case. However, it was reinstated in 1998, according to OJIN.

He had a pending speeding citation from Hood River County at the time of the Umatilla County fatal.
The case was investigated by the Oregon State Police, with assistance from the Umatilla Tribal Police Department, Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, OSP Forensic Laboratory, Oregon Department of Justice and Umatilla County District Attorney’s Office.

Troopers said Carlgren’s 1999 Dodge Dakota pickup slammed into the rear of a 1991 Chevrolet Beretta in the westbound lanes of the freeway, killing all four of the Beretta’s occupants.

Victims were identified as driver Jessie Cline, 29, of Hermiston, and passengers Michelle Sawyer, 29, of Hermiston; William Johnson, 24, of Hermiston; and Fred Young Jr., 31, of Boardman.

Sawyer and Young were engaged. They had planned to marry in December.

The four victims, all wearing seat belts, were returning from a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathering in La Grande. Carlgren was returning home from a job site in Utah.

The car was rear-ended along the right shoulder of the westbound lanes, according to state police. The impact drove it across the roadway to the left shoulder.

The crash occurred near the bottom of Emigrant Hill, commonly known as Cabbage Hill. It is considered one of the most hazardous stretches of Interstate 84.

Carlgren was transported to St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton, where he was treated for facial injuries. He was then transported to the Umatilla County Jail, where he has remained since.