‘Accident turned crime’: woman gets probation for fatal hit-and-run crash in West Salem

An Independence woman was sentenced on Tuesday to three years of probation for leaving the scene of a December collision that left a man dead in West Salem.

Micah L. Blacksmith, 37, pleaded guilty on March 14 in Polk County Circuit Court to failure to perform the duties of a driver to a seriously injured person. 

Blacksmith was only charged with the felony hit-and-run and not with causing the death of Steven C. Bishop, 63, of Salem.

Bishop died in the crash on Northwest Murlark Avenue, just north of Northwest Edgewater Street.

Polk County Circuit Court Judge Norman Hill suspended Blacksmith’s driver’s license for five years and ordered that she perform 80 hours of community service. She must also undergo a mental health evaluation and, if recommended by Polk County’s mental health department, complete treatment.

Court records show the judge imposed a sentence lighter than normal due to Blacksmith’s lack of recent criminal history and because she cooperated with prosecutors, who sought the maximum sentence of 20 months in prison.

“Ms. Blacksmith has demonstrated self-growth and accountability by turning herself in and voluntarily enrolling in and completing intensive outpatient mental health treatment,” according to a sentencing memorandum by attorney John Knodell, who represented Blacksmith.

Bishop lived in the neighborhood and was taking a walk when he was killed, according to Polk County District Attorney Aaron Felton.

Felton told Salem Reporter that Bishop was a cancer survivor and music lover who enjoyed geology and collecting rocks. 

Ahead of the sentencing hearing, 16 people wrote letters to the judge in support of Blacksmith, who works as a manager at an assisted living center in Salem.

Blacksmith described the crash in her own letter to Polk County Circuit Court Judge Rafael Caso, who oversaw her plea hearing.

She said she was driving on Edgewater Street when she turned her blinker on, slowed down and looked in every direction before turning left onto Murlark Avenue.

She suddenly saw a man hunched over and looking down in the middle of the street, “right in front of my vehicle,” she said. “I struck Mr. Bishop before I could even hit the brakes.”

Blacksmith said she thought she came to a stop but wasn’t sure. She recalled realizing her vehicle was on top of Bishop.

“I got off of him and found myself at home, in disbelief. The unreal feeling that I had seriously injured someone sent me into a state of shock, panic, and complete hysteria. Terror and anxiety consumed every cell of my being,” she said.

Police responded to the crash around 8:30 p.m. and pronounced Bishop dead at the scene.

Meantime, Blacksmith said she checked her car and saw no damage. Still in disbelief, she said she drove back to the crash site, where she saw Bishop’s body covered up. She said she “blacked out” and then found herself at a relative’s house, where she felt “completely paralyzed.”

A week later, Salem police asked for the public’s help in finding what it described as a “vehicle of interest” captured on video minutes before officers responded to the crash.

Blacksmith told a mental health evaluator in February that she tried three times to turn herself in before authorities finally booked her into jail and released her on Feb. 5, six weeks after the crash, according to the evaluator’s report.

“Steven’s fate at my hands was truly an accident. I understand my response to the accident was wrong and I take full responsibility. I am aware of the severity and consequences of this tragic accident turned crime,” she wrote in her letter to the judge.

Blacksmith apologized to Bishop’s family and friends. She said she placed a roadside memorial at his “final resting place” and another at her own home.

“I am grieving the loss of a man I never knew. I understand it doesn’t compare to the grief they must feel,” she wrote. “I’m eternally remorseful and honor him in memory every day. At 8:30 p.m., my alarm goes off and I take a moment to remember Mr. Steven Craig Bishop. I will never forget what has happened.”

RELATED COVERAGE:

Driver charged with hit-and-run in Dec. 23 fatal crash in West Salem

Police seek “vehicle of interest” seen near fatal hit-and-run in West Salem

Man, 63, dies in suspected hit-and-run in West Salem on Monday night

Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.

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