James Snowbarger will go to court Dec. 17 for sentencing in the case
involving a two-car accident last Thanksgiving day.

The incident occurred on Welches Road at the intersection of Twinberry Loop.
The collision resulted in the death of 34-year-old Mountain resident Jaina
Cole.

Snowbarger, 19, of Welches, pled guilty to criminally negligent homicide and
driving under the influence, plus no contest to failure to perform duties of a
driver to an injured person at an Oct. 8 circuit court hearing before Judge
Robert Herndon.

According to judicial assistant (to Judge Herndon) Pam Stewart, the maximum
sentence for criminally negligent homicide is 10 years, for DUII one year, and
five years for failure to perform.

Robert Cole, father of Jaina, would not comment on the hearing or sentencing,
but the sting of the loss of his daughter has not disappeared.

“Jaina’s younger brother will receive his Eagle Scout award (this month),”
Cole told The Mountain Times after the hearing. “She adored him and would
have been proud of him. It’s sad she won’t be able to attend.”

The incident occurred in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving Day 2009. A
witness called in the crash and Lt. Joshua Baker of the Hoodland Fire District
was the first to arrive on the scene. Medical response personnel quickly went
to work on Cole’s extraction from her vehicle. The vehicle driven by
Snowbarger was unoccupied, according to Hoodland Fire Chief Mic Eby.
Cole was removed from the vehicle and placed on a gurney. Once in the
ambulance, she was put in traction.

At 2:50 a.m. Clackamas County Sheriff deputies arrived and Cole was already
in the ambulance, ready for transport. She was taken to Mt. Hood Medical
Center in Gresham.

Authorities were notified at 11:30 a.m., Nov. 29, that Cole had “passed away
in the night.”

At the scene, it was determined by CCSO personnel that Cole had been
driving a gold Lexus that was in the south bound lane of Welches Road, and a
Ford Focus – with no driver – was inspected that was resting on its side
nearby.

An eye witness told deputies that a young man was seen wandering away
from the scene of the accident.

Deputies retrieved Snowbarger’s wallet from the vehicle and proceeded to his
place of residence, where he was subsequently arrested.