Jeremy Jordan pled guilty yesterday to second-degree assault and drunk driving. Back in May, Jordan sped out of a Safeway parking lot and struck Eric Davidson as he pedaled down Fremont Street in Northeast Portland.
Jordan, who was angry at being refused alcohol by the store clerk, left Eric lying in the road and was arrested a short time thereafter. Jordan had a blood-alcohol level of .18 and Davidson had a blood alcohol level of .25.*
The Oregonian reports:
Jeremy Keith Jordan, 31, is expected to be sentenced next month to almost six years in prison.
Meanwhile, Eric is still recovering from the collision and his wife Anna-Carin continues to share a daily journal of their struggles and triumphs on her blog.
The Oregonian wrote a long piece about Eric in the paper today. Here’s a snip:
Every day, Anna-Carin visited her husband at the hospital, at a nursing home and now, the Rehabilitation Institute of Oregon in Northwest Portland. He might return home next week because he isn’t making the progress necessary to stay at the rehabilitation center. The couple’s medical insurance is no longer willing to pay for his stay, according to their attorney Richard Lane.
KGW also covers the guilty plea today and has more from Anna-Carin.
There are a lot of ways you can help the Davidson family; they need meals, they need money, they need people to remember they are not forgotten. Go to the blog and check the sidebar for more details on how to help.
*NOTE: I added the information about the BAC levels for both Jordan and Davidson after this story was originally published.
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Jonathan has not forgotten Eric. I delivered 2 meals to the family. I plan to do more, but it’s hard when I’m a new dad I hope people feel the urge to help. To put things in context, Eric started talking about 100 days after his accident and is still not home. Like Obama’s mom who spent her last months of life fighting with insurance companies, Eric’s family is about to run out of insurance money.
Here are quotes from Eric’s family:
Wife ( Anna-Carin ) ” I was annoyed with all the attention after the accident. … I thought Eric would be fine and back to work in a few days….. five months later Im still updating Erics progress and we are nowhere near the end. ”
Eric ( now speaking ) Im lonely where are my friends? my head hurts this sucks How long am I here? When can I go home? How long are you here? I explained to him that hes in a good place
Wife ( Day 121 August 22, 2008 ) I stopped crying and said Hey, you actually communicated to me, thats awesome. And he had more to say after that. He later asked if Im doing ok, how were doing financially (typical Eric question), and if Im getting any help
Since Mr. Davidson reportedly had a BAC of 0.25 was he charged with drunken bicycling?
“Since Mr. Davidson reportedly had a BAC of 0.25 was he charged with drunken bicycling?”
no. not to my knowledge.
by the way, i’ve edited the story and added in the information of the BAC level of both Jordan and Davidson.
thanks.
The Oregonian’s article points out that Mr. Davidson was viewed on a security video from a grocery store and they were able to ascertain that he was riding properly.
Technically both should be cited for DUII, but this proves my point that in an accident where someone if grievously injured, the police do not press charges – and let the civil courts sort it out to the extent that they can (which in cases like this is not much).
It also bears repeating (according to the Oregonian article) that supposedly Jeremy Jordan stole beer from Safeway, was speeding, driving without lights, and drunk as well. With so many extenuating factors, I don’t believe that the judge will be lenient, nor should he be.
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2008/10/driver_pleads_guilty_to_drinki.html
Mr Jordan was clearly breaking several laws, and was endangering the public with his behavior (it is just a matter of luck that no one was killed) and deserves both civil and criminal prosecution. His actions need to be treated like the violent crimes that they are. Still, someone riding a bike with a BAC of .25 (about 3 times the legal limit to drive) cannot possibly be at his best. Not trying to blame the victim here, but we all know that there are many things we can do on the road to avoid accidents that, if they happened, would be technically someone else’s fault. I wasn’t there and I don’t know the details of what happened, but I do know that I often spot erratic and/or dangerous drivers well before I get close to having a problem with them. I’m pretty sure that if I were riding with a .25 BAC I would probably need to devote all my concentration to just keeping my bike up and in the right side of the lane, much less listen for a car violently accelerating or covering my brakes because there is someone quickly approaching the driveway of that Safeway store without any headlights. Mr Davidson was “lucky” (for lack of a better word) that he didn’t hit a pedestrian or a pothole, or miss a stop sign, etc. and have a severe accident that, in addition to being physically harmed, he would be legally responsible.
I hope the clerk at the store doesn’t feel bad about refusing alcohol to Jordan.
Perhaps instead of the punitive route, a consequential action on Mr. Jordan would have been more useful for all. Take away his driver’s license (allow him to drive as necessary to earn a living) and garnish his wages until all Mr. Davidson’s medical/financial hardship bills are paid. We wouldn’t pay for his prison stay and the Davidsons would be relieved of the debt they are being forced into.
It’s time to tax alcohol to refect it’s true costs to society. Ten cents on a beer won’t end civilization, but could provide the funds necessary to help victims of alcohol fueled events.
This is the first time I’ve read it reported that the victim, Eric Davidson had a BAC of 0.25…Someone on one of the earlier threads alleged that he had been drunk, but offered no proof. I’m sorry to now have to recognize he was as drunk as this. I figured maybe an 0.08 or around there…but this… . Just disgusting. With that much alcohol in his system, is there any way his senses and reflexes could have functional enough for him to be alert for and able to respond to an emergency situation?
This doesn’t diminish the offensiveness of Jeremy Jordan’s callous disregard for human life in the way he operated a motor vehicle that night. We can hope for the best, but Eric Davidson may messed up for life. Everyone needs to be doing a better job of watching out for each other, even if it means giving up indulgence in the occasional drunken bender.
wsbob. I don’t follow your logic. What if Eric Davidson had at that moment been a child or a blind person or someone in a wheel chair. The ability to jump out of the way, recognize audio cues associated with psychopathic driving should hardly be a requirement to survive in our society.
El Biciclero interpreted this sentiment of yours (six short years later in a similar context) here:
from here: http://bikeportland.org/2014/06/20/pbot-ad-campaign-drivers-slow-107630#comment-5094131
I’ve been reading the blog daily and I’m so glad to see Eric getting better. The comments here are worth reading for all of us. Jeremy Jordan broke the law and he needs to pay for his actions. It’s a question worth asking – in what way can he most effectively pay for his actions. Im really not sure – while I think he deserves prison, it’s good point that it doesn’t actually benefit anyone. I’d like to see his punishment actually benefit his victims somehow.
I’m an avid cyclist, so I have to say — it’s also worth noting that if he hadn’t been drunk, Mr. Davidson might have been better able to react to the attack he encountered.
But this biggest thing I would pass on to cyclists is WEAR A HELMET! Such a small thing, that could make such a HUGE difference. Please, please, please, encourage your fellow riders to take this safety precaution!!
Although normal excuses cannot be made for Jeremy Jordan’s actions in general and without making this unfortunate incident a race issue per se,w the black clerk who refused to sell him alcohol was black and was ruder than he had to be and the black security guard who intervened was black as well. I personally know of others who he has awaited on and said that he was more officious and ruder than he needed to be. Any person knows that when a person is drinking his buttons can be pressed all too easily. This is quite possible a case of reverse discrimination Rudeness begets rudeness. As a middle-aged white woman I,too,have bee snubbed or otherwise treated ”differently” for no other reason than the color of my skin.Ironic isn’t it that no one seems to talk about this. On a different note, the couple who sent Mr. Jordan to the store with the money to purchase the beer(they were walking home fron the pub and Mr.Jordan was driving) have turned from “friends” to adversaries. The consensus seems to be that they do not want to be the least bit culpable for their request. Jennifer and Mic- hael Meachum you bear some responsible for talking a man with a fiancee and young daughter at home into doing a favor for you. In the future buy your own beer or was your license suspended due to drunk driving like Eric Davidson’s was???. I fully realize that we all need to be accountable for our actions, but there are plenty of enablers who don”‘t care one way or another.