Makeshift memorial on Wallace Rd in Polk County where Adam Joy died. (Photo sent in by a reader)
“He said, ‘I have been troubled by this case and have been thinking about it and I’ve decided the right thing to do is to present this case to the grand jury.'”
The driver of a large truck who had several prior speeding tickets and hit and killed Adam Joy while he and his young son were on a bike ride in rural Polk County last summer would have gotten off with only minor traffic citations if not for the work of the family’s lawyer, a story on BikePortland, and a change of heart from a district attorney.
Joy, a beloved teacher who lived in Portland, and his 15-year-old son, were bicycling on Wallace Road about 10 miles southeast of McMinnville on June 10th, 2023. The pair were training for the Seattle-to-Portland bicycle ride. Robert Weeks was driving his 2011 Ford F-350 truck behind them and was involved in a collision with Joy. Joy died at the scene.
The initial police report claimed Joy, “fell over into the travel lane” and that, “even though the [driver] slowed when passing, the rider of the bicycle was run over” — phrases that Oregon State Police Communications Director Capt. Kyle Kennedy told me during a phone call on June 22nd were, “intentionally vague on the details, but not misleading or inaccurate.”
But those words were absolutely clear, and they might have been untrue.
On December 19th, Weeks was indicted by the Grand Jury of Polk County and now faces a charge of criminally negligent homicide.
Indictment of Weeks for causing the death of Adam Joy.
Weeks’ indictment came three months after the Polk County District Attorney’s office said there was insufficient evidence to charge Weeks for any crimes.
What happened? Why the shift from the DA? It appears to be a mix of things: pressure from Joy’s family, media attention, a lack of confidence in Weeks’ story (a source said it shifted throughout the investigation), questionable steps in the OSP investigation, the prospect of citations being dismissed in traffic court and being left with no justice while a family and community grieved an immense loss. Those all might be factors that convinced DA Aaron Felton to bring the case to trial.
You’ll recall that, a few days after the collision, a woman who was driving the other way and witnessed the entire incident, contacted BikePortland and shared her version of the story — which differed strongly from what OSP relayed in their initial media statement. She said Weeks and his “big fricking truck” were “going pretty fast” and that Weeks never moved over as he approached the riders in front of him. The witness read the police statement and told BikePortland that, “It bothered me. Why would they say that? I feel like they’re protecting the driver.”
It took 11 days for OSP to take a statement from the crash’s main witness.
“[The police] released Mr. Weeks’ truck back to him before I had a chance to look at it — even though I had written and said I wanted to have my engineer inspect the truck.”
Larry Sokol, the lawyer for the Joy family’s wrongful death lawsuit against Weeks, expressed concern at how the investigation was carried out. As an example, Sokol shared that, “[The police] released Mr. Weeks’ truck back to him before I had a chance to look at it — even though I had written and said I wanted to have my engineer inspect the truck.”
In emails to BikePortland, members of Joy’s family also expressed frustration over the lack of transparency regarding the investigation. As just one example, they say the OSP never inspected the damage to Joy’s bicycle. Adam’s ex-wife and representative of his estate, Narumi Joy, was desperate for information about what happened to her sons’ father; but the only point of contact they were given was a victim’s assistance hotline. The family reached out to Oregon State Representative Travis Nelson to share their concerns and were told to be patient. A promised meeting with Narumi and DA Felton scheduled for early October was cancelled at the last minute. When Felton called Sokol to cancel the meeting, he declined to speak with Narumi about the police investigation and refused to explain why he would not seek criminal charges against Weeks.
In late September, OSP declined BikePortland’s request for a police report, saying it was part of an ongoing investigation.
Left with no information and after being told the case was referred to traffic court where Weeks would only face two citations, Joy’s family was outraged. Joy’s sister-in-law Gina Wilson said she felt the DA and police were “treating Adam like roadkill.”
It wasn’t until November 13th — five months after Adam’s death — that Narumi and Sokol finally met DA Felton.
I’m not sure what happened between September, when we reported that the DA would not press criminal charges, and October; but for some reason, DA Felton appears to have had a change of heart. According to Sokol, Felton called him on Friday, October 27th with some good news: “He said, ‘I have been troubled by this case and have been thinking about it’,” Sokol recalled during our conversation yesterday, “‘and I’ve decided the right thing to do is to present this case to the grand jury.'” (Felton declined to comment on this story, citing an ongoing prosecution.)
Weeks, a 47-year-old construction company owner, is scheduled to appear at the Polk County Courthouse in Dallas, Oregon on March 27th. His charge of criminally negligent homicide is a Class B Felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. It’s a pittance for the loss of Adam Joy, but Sokol believes it’s a fair shot at justice.
“It’s not a win for me. The only thing that puts me at ease is the driver getting jail time.”
Sokol said he has nothing but respect for DA Felton and Capt. Kennedy. Sokol also believes the witness who came forward through BikePortland is the reason the case shifted. “Things started moving after her statement came out,” Sokol shared with me yesterday, “If not for that article you published, nothing would have happened in this case. I shudder to think what would have happened if that witness had not come forward.”
“Now a jury will decide what is right and what’s not,” Sokol continued. “Weeks is going to have to face the charges and I hope that it slows him down.”
For Narumi Joy, she can take some solace in the fact that Weeks will face a trial. She will also have help raising her two fatherless boys thanks to settlements Sokol won from Weeks’ insurance.
“Money was never my focus, though it’s nice I don’t have to worry about the boys,” Narumi said. “It’s not a win for me. The only thing that puts me at ease is the driver getting jail time.”
