A Washington County judge sentenced 58-year-old Edward Patrick Gorman to 130 months in prison this month for a drunken hit-and-run that sent a Hillsboro bicyclist flying through the air, bouncing off a second vehicle before landing a considerable distance from the crash site. The cyclist survived, but suffered multiple broken bones and a severe head injury. Gorman fled the scene and was found at his home 15 minutes later.
Washington County Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Lemoine handed down the sentence on September 11, with the Washington County District Attorney's Office formally announcing it Tuesday, according to a FlashAlert release. Judge Lemoine sits on the 20th Judicial District bench in Washington County. Deputy District Attorney Christina Luedtke prosecuted the case for the district attorney's office.
As OregonLive reports, prosecutors said Gorman picked up a friend on March 17, 2023, before driving to a bar in Hillsboro. A bar server reported that Gorman appeared intoxicated when he arrived, and staff cut him off. Prosecutors said he drove while intoxicated after leaving the bar, making his way through the streets of Hillsboro in his truck.
Cyclist Thrown Through the Air at 10th Avenue and Walnut
Court records show witnesses saw Gorman speeding and swerving between lanes before he crashed into a bicyclist at 10th Avenue and Walnut Street. The impact threw the cyclist through the air; he bounced off a second vehicle and landed a considerable distance from the original collision, per officials, who reported the cyclist suffered extensive injuries. The outlet's report notes that Gorman's passenger told him he had hit someone and told him to stop — he accelerated instead and fled the scene.
Police located Gorman at his home 15 minutes after the crash and observed substantial front-end damage to his truck, the report states. He confessed to drinking, and officers obtained a search warrant for a blood draw, which established a blood alcohol concentration of .09% hours after the incident — . The reconstruction was handled by the Washington County Crash Analysis Reconstruction Team, an inter-agency task force of specially trained officers from local police departments, the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office, according to a Washington County Sheriff's Office document.
Jury Convicted Gorman on Four Counts in July
A Washington County jury found Gorman guilty in July of second-degree assault, failure to perform the duties of a driver to injured persons, driving under the influence of intoxicants, and reckless driving — a verdict that came more than three years after the crash. Per the same account, Gorman has no prior criminal convictions in Oregon.
Oregon's Ballot Measure 11 is the voter-approved law that sets mandatory minimum prison terms for 16 violent felony offenses. Under the measure, second-degree assault alone carries a mandatory minimum of 70 months — five years and ten months — according to Common Sense for Oregon. That mandatory floor limits how much discretion a judge has in sentencing someone convicted under the measure.
Separately, failure to perform the duties of a driver in a crash causing serious physical injury is a Class B felony under Oregon Revised Statute 811.705, as detailed by Justia. Leaving the scene of a crash that causes lesser injuries is instead treated as a lower-level Class C felony.
Part of a Wider Pattern of Road Violence in Washington County
Gorman's case comes amid reporting on another severe crash involving a vulnerable road user in Washington County. Hoodline reported in June on a 19-year-old bicyclist killed in a high-speed collision at East Main Street and NE Century Boulevard in Hillsboro, which led to the arrest of a 35-year-old driver on suspicion of second-degree manslaughter and reckless driving; prosecutors had not yet decided on formal charges. Hoodline also reported on the Hillsboro collision.
The pattern extends statewide. A July 2025 report from national transportation research group TRIP discussed Oregon traffic fatalities. The broader issue also includes fatalities and injuries among non-occupants.
