Driver in Bend roundabout death charged with drunken driving

Published 3:00 pm Friday, October 6, 2023

Nearly a year after a Bend man died in what police initially called a hit-and-run crash at a roundabout, his son-in-law was arrested and is being charged with driving drunk, not the man’s death.

Following a months-long investigation into the incident at the roundabout at Newport Avenue and 14th Street, Bend Police could not say definitively how 76-year-old Walter James Lane was injured and did not find physical evidence of a hit-and-run crash, police spokeswoman Sheila Miller said Friday.

“It’s likely that he was not hit by the vehicle,” Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels told The Bulletin on Friday. “It’s likely that he fell out of the vehicle and hit the roadway.”

Todd Alan Brown, 56, of Bend, was arrested Thursday and is facing misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving and reckless endangering. If convicted, he could face a maximum of four years in prison, Gunnels said.

After concluding the investigation, Bend Police recommended to the district attorney’s office a potential charge of failure to perform the duties of the driver, Oregon’s hit-and-run law, a Class B felony that could carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

But Gunnels said prosecutors consulted the Oregon Attorney General’s Office and determined they could not move forward with this charge. A conviction would require proving Lane was struck by the vehicle and authorities could not do that, Gunnels said.

Brown and his wife lived with Lane in an apartment on NW Regency Street in Bend, police said. Brown and Lane were out drinking the night of Oct. 27 at the West Side Tavern, a bar on NW Galveston Avenue, and Stars Cabaret, a strip club on NE Third Street in Bend.

Police obtained video footage and bar tabs that indicated Brown consumed “a large amount of alcohol” that night, Miller said. In addition, police said Brown can later be heard slurring his words in the background of a 911 call made by a witness to the incident that night.

Police said the two left the strip club around 9:20 p.m. In the moments leading up to the incident, Brown was driving Lane in a 2004 black Cadillac Escalade registered to his wife.

At 9:31 p.m., police responded to a report of an injured man at the roundabout. Witnesses said the driver — who police identified as Brown — pulled Lane out of the roadway and was yelling and slapping him “in an attempt to bring him back to consciousness,” Miller said. Then he left.

Police initially believed Lane had been hurt in a hit-and-run crash. He was taken to St. Charles Bend, where he later died. The Oregon State Medical Examiner said Lane died from blunt force trauma to the head, according to Miller, who added that doctors at St. Charles Bend “also indicated Mr. Lane may have had some internal injuries as well.”

In November, police determined that Lane was with Brown prior to the incident. They searched his electronic devices that month and seized the car, but did not find physical evidence that the car hit Lane, Miller said. Police also did not obtain video footage of the incident.

Police said Brown did not cooperate and wasn’t forthcoming during the investigation. They said he took steps to conceal his involvement in the death of his father in law.

He did not share that he and his wife owned a vehicle matching the description of the car they were looking for, Miller said. They said he did not provide information about where Lane was in the hours before the incident. They said he left town and flew to California shortly after Lane died.

When police asked how Lane ended up outside the car, Brown wouldn’t answer, Miller said. He also wouldn’t say why he left the scene.

Gunnels said it’s possible Brown could face further charges but would not elaborate. He was not in the Deschutes County jail on Friday, according to the jail roster.

Bend Police are no longer investigating any criminal wrongdoing involving Lane’s death.

“Our role in this case at this point is complete,” Miller said.

According to a copy of his criminal history worksheet, which The Bulletin obtained from the district attorney’s office, Brown has been convicted of driving under the influence of intoxicants four times since 2011. He has also been convicted in 13 other criminal cases involving drugs, guns, battery and burglary.

His California driver’s license was revoked because of his criminal history, authorities said. He didn’t have an Oregon license.