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The Oregonian: Skibowl owner Kirk Hanna gives $500,000 to hit-and-run victim

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Kirk Hanna.
(Photo: Multnomah County)

Yesterday, The Oregonian published a detailed update on the story we shared last month regarding a settlement being reached in the case of a serious hit-and-run that occurred in May 2010 and involved the owner of the Mt. Hood Skibowl, Kirk Hanna, and a Lake Oswego resident named Robert Skof.

Here’s the lede from The Oregonian:

“Two years after Mt. Hood Skibowl owner Kirk Hanna struck a bicyclist — then sped off, leaving the man sprawled unconscious on a Southwest Portland road — Hanna has agreed to pay his victim $500,000.

The case is unusual not because Hanna left the scene — dozens of Portland area motorists do that every year under similar circumstances — but because he eventually agreed to plead guilty to DUII and hit-and-run driving.”

I’m happy to hear that Skof is back on his bike. Hanna’s payment should help both men sleep a bit easier at night.

It seems hit-and-runs are in the news a lot more these days. There’s a growing feeling among activists — and among families of victims — that the time has come to pass new and stronger laws and begin to shift the culture around this reprehensible crime.

The Oregonian quotes Skof’s attorney Sean DuBois as saying this case illustrates the problems:

The penalties are far too light for drivers — often drunk — who hit people and then flee, he said. By the time police catch up to them, any evidence that could have been collected in a blood-alcohol sample is gone.

On a related note, I’ve noticed several mountain bike events on the calendar taking place at Skibowl. There’s the 6 Hours of Mt. Hood coming up on July 1st and the the NW Cup that wrapped up this past weekend. When I heard about events being held there, my first thought was about Kirk Hanna and what he did on May 23rd, 2010. I wonder if other people think about that when they go to Skibowl.

For more details about this case, read The Oregonian article and browse our “Kirk Hanna” story tag.

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