The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WALLA WALLA - A jury in Walla Walla late last week cleared an elderly Dayton man who hit and killed a Seattle cyclist last year of vehicular homicide.

The not guilty verdict for Melvin Bohleen following his criminal trial in Walla Walla Superior Court Thursday drew praise from his attorney, who said the driver will nonetheless live with his regrets for the rest of his life.

But the victim's surviving husband said in an interview last Tuesday night that he was disappointed with the outcome, suggesting that despite Bohleen's lack of intention he should have been convicted for his lack of attention.

"He wasn't malicious or unkind, the trial just showed his lack of attention (while driving on Middle Waitsburg Road) and for that I have no wife," Seattle entrepreneur Howard Eustis said. "I would have wished for a greater legal result."

A guilty verdict would have sent a message that inattention can have serious consequences and would have done more to deter other drivers from taking risks, Eustis said. "Not paying attention" should bear more weight than simply being written off as "an accident," he explained.

On a late morning last May, Bohleen drove south on Middle Waitsburg Road when he came upon two cyclists, Sarah Eustis and Teresa Wolber. He hit Eustis with his Jeep, claiming later he had not seen her in time.

According to an investigation by the Walla Walla Sheriff's Office, the two cyclists did not hear Bohleen's vehicle approaching. After Eustis was struck, Bohleen pulled over and stayed at the scene until after Eustis was taken to the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

Officials said the reason for the crash was inattentive driving and neither drugs nor alcohol were involved.

"It was a terrible accident, not a crime," Michael Hubbard, Bohleen's attorney, said.

But Howard Eustis said had Bohleen not been gazing at a nearby wheat field, he would have had plenty of time to see the cyclists down the road.

Hubbard said Bohleen's insurance will cover wrongful death and emotional distress claims from Wolber, Eustis' sister-in-law, also of Seattle, who had been riding alongside Eustis the day of the accident May 21. Bohleen's insurance also covered the minimum liability amount for his coverage to Eustis' family, Howard Eustis said.

The victim's husband said no verdict would have brought closure for him, because nothing can bring back his wife of 20 years. He does not believe Bohleen harbored any impatience or ill will against cyclists, but the Seattle man said the driver had a quarter of a mile to notice the cyclists if he had had his eyes on the road.

Hubbard said circumstances conspired against Bohleen spotting them in time, with his sight distance limited by roadside vegetation, the bikers wearing colors that blended with the landscape and his car visor drawn against the glare of the morning sun.

Bohleen, who came to every court appearance in a pair of coveralls, was described by Hubbard as very down to earth and gentle. Bohleen was retired and during his career he had worked in the applied physics lab at the University of Washington doing sonar research and some classified work for the U.S. Navy, Hubbard said.

Bohleen retired and moved to Dayton in 1995. He has no family in the area, but a few good friends.

Sarah Eustis had been in Walla Walla to celebrate her nephew's graduation from Whitman College.

If Bohleen had been convicted of vehicular homicide, he could have faced 15 to 20 months in prison. After a two-day trial, during which Bohleen took the stand and became very emotional with regret for the incident, the 12-member jury deliberated for two hours before rendering its verdict.

To convict Bohleen, the prosecuting attorney would have had to prove that Bohleen disregarded others' safety beyond a reasonable doubt when he hit Eustis on her bicycle, a higher, more aggravated kind of negligence than normal because of a recent change in state law.