PORTLAND The woman who hit a cyclist in August on Barbur Boulevard and sped off was sentenced to 3 years, 4 months in prison Friday in a Multnomah County Court.
A tearful 29-year-old Miriam Clinton admitted she knowingly left the scene of an accident that resulted in serious injury.
Clinton pleaded guilty to assault, DUII, and hit-and-run in October after turning herself in to police in August.
Background: Barbur hit-and-run suspect pleads guilty
Police identified Clinton as the suspect who took off after slamming into then 20-year-old Henry Schmidt from behind as he walked his bike down Barbur Boulevard near Capitol Highway.
Schmidt, a student at Lewis & Clark College, was in the trauma ICU at Oregon Health & Science University with several broken bones, a laceration to his spleen, fractures in his spine, bad road rash and bruises.
On Friday, Schmidt and his mother, Kathi Sweet, who traveled to Portland from Los Angeles, were in court for Clinton's sentencing hearing.
It was shocking to see him for the first time, Sweet said at Friday's hearing.
Sweet then turned to Clinton, looked directly at her and said, You chose to drive despite having a suspended license and being drunk. You chose to cover your tracks, and you got caught doing so.
The prosecutor said that Clinton's friends offered to drive her home the night of the hit-and-run but she declined.
I take full responsibility for this terrible tragedy. This is by far the hugest mistake I've ever made in my entire life, Clinton said before she was sentenced. I want everybody to know that I'm more sorry than words can express.
A TriMet bus driver who spotted Schmidt lying unconscious in the road first attended to him and alerted authorities to the crash.
An anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers led investigators to Clinton s vehicle at a body shop in Wilsonville and eventually to her.
Clinton was reportedly driving with a suspended license, and according to court documents, she was convicted three times for speeding violations in Oregon.
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KGW reporter Mark Hanrahan contributed to this report.
