Trial begins for man accused of running red light, killing 11-year-old in SE Portland

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - The trial for a driver accused of running a red light and killing an 11-year-old boy back in 2023 started Tuesday at the Multnomah County Courthouse.

During opening statements, both the prosecution and the defense played video from the red light camera that captured the crash and from the driver’s dashcam.

When that video played in the courtroom, multiple members of the jury and people sitting in the gallery gasped and some even started crying.

The video showed defendant Duprie Smith’s car speeding through a red light at the intersection of Stark and 102nd. His car t-boned another car, causing him to roll down the block and sent the other car spinning in the opposite direction.

The car that was t-boned had three people in it, including 11-year-old Ryan Ambrose, who died at the scene. The two other people in that car were also injured.

During Tuesday’s opening statements, the state argued that it is undeniable that the defendant, Duprie Smith, caused Ambrose’s death. The State said they will present evidence during the trial that Smith was not only speeding at the time of the crash, but was also under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

“Five seconds before the crash he was going 85 mph and when hits the vehicle he is going 72 miles per hour. His blood work shows at the time he was driving his blood alcohol content was at .08 and had delta 8 THC in his system,” the state’s attorney told the jury.

The state is asking the jury to find Smith guilty of first degree manslaughter.

Smith’s lawyer did not dispute that Smith caused this crash. In fact, his attorney told the jury he wants Smith to be held criminally responsible for the death of Ryan Ambrose.

However, his attorney argued Smith should be found guilty of a lesser charge.

His attorney played dashcam video from Smith’s car five minutes before the crash. Multiple gunshots can be heard in the video, as well as Smith shouting that he was shot and thinks he might die before starting to drive himself to the hospital.

The defense argued he cannot be found guilty of first degree manslaughter because the way the law is written. Smith would have had to have been driving recklessly knowing that his actions could cause an accident, but Smith’s lawyer argued that was not the state of mind he was in.

“He killed a kid not because he was intoxicated, not because he was speeding, but because he was shot and he was in fight or flight mode,” Smith’s attorney told the jury.

At the end of his opening statements, Smith’s lawyer asked the jury to find him guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

This trial is expected to go through the week.