System misses driver who killed cyclist

Jennifer Knight was ‘accident prone,’ says an Idaho licensing official

By Christian Gaston

The Forest Grove News-Times, Jul 25, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (10 Reader comments)

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When a 26-year-old motorist killed bicyclist Timothy O’Donnell north of Cornelius last month, she may not have known that her driving privileges had been revoked in Oregon.

Her adopted home state of Idaho definitely didn’t know.

That’s because a review of public records shows that the system that is supposed to prevent problem drivers from getting licensed in other states didn’t catch up to Jennifer Knight until it was too late.

Specifically, the News-Times found that information from Oregon that could have kept Knight off the road didn’t make it to Idaho in time to prevent her from legally driving the rental car that struck O’Donnell on June 9.

The News-Times has been unable to contact Knight, but a review of police records in Idaho and Oregon shows that she has a history of driving without insurance.

The first time this came to authorities’ attention was in 2004, when Knight rear-ended a Jeep Wrangler in Idaho, while driving with an Oregon license.

According to the accident report filed by the Post Falls police department, Knight approached a stop sign where the Jeep was stopped in front of her.

Knight reached behind her to take a tube of ChapStick from her five-year-old daughter who was sitting in the backseat. When she turned back, her Ford Explorer was too close to the Jeep to stop.

The collision caused $1,000 damage to Knight’s car and $500 to the Jeep. Both drivers refused medical treatment at the scene, and Knight was cited for driving without insurance.

Knight again received a ticket for driving uninsured this January in Columbia County. According to Scappoose police, the citation stemmed from a Jan. 15 traffic stop where Knight failed to obey a traffic control device.

That incident set up a series of events that culminated with O’Donnell’s death. Here’s a recap:

March 28: When Knight failed to appear for her court date for the Scappoose incident, the Columbia County Circuit Court sent a suspension order to Oregon’s Driver and Motor Vehicles Division.

Late March, early April: Shortly after skipping her court date in Oregon, Knight was issued a drivers license in Idaho. States routinely issue licenses to drivers who have valid licenses from other states, as long as they can prove their residency. They will not, however, issue a license to someone who has lost their license in another state. Upon issuing a new license, the state notifies the other state so the former license can be forfeited.

April 8: Oregon’s DMV received the court order for Knight’s suspension, a standard procedure for those who miss court dates for traffic violations. That same day, DMV sent a letter to Knight’s Oregon address informing her that if she took no further action, her license would be suspended in 60 days.

April 9: Oregon DMV received notice about Knight’s Idaho license on April 9. At that point Knight’s Oregon license was forfeited. But the revocation process continued because under various multi-state agreements a license revocation in one state is supposed to prevent someone from getting a license in another state.

June 3: While driving with a valid Idaho license Knight failed to yield to an oncoming Toyota van and it struck her Honda Accord. No one in Knight’s car was injured, though both of the van’s occupants were taken to a local hospital for observation.

Sometime between June 3 and June 9: Knight’s sister rented a 2008 Dodge Avenger in Idaho and added Knight as an authorized driver. It’s not known why this arrangement was made, but a lawyer for O’Donnell’s family told the News-Times that Knight’s insurance didn’t cover rental vehicles, while her sister’s did.

June 8: Since Knight did not respond to the March 8 DMV notification, Oregon officials suspended her forfeited license. That information was entered into a national database alerting police and licensing agencies that Knight should not be on the road.

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