Man found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in 2023 crash that killed boy in SE Portland

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - A jury found a man guilty of criminally negligent homicide on Monday, for his role in a car crash that killed an 11-year-old boy in 2023.

Duprie Smith, 29 at the time of the crash, was found not guilty of the greater charge of manslaughter, as well as 11 other counts - including DUII, assault, and reckless driving.

The trial stemmed from a deadly crash that occurred the night of July 8, 2023, at Southeast 102nd Avenue and Southeast Washington Street in Portland.

Arriving officers found two cars, one rolled over, at the scene. Smith, as well as the boy, Ryan Ambrose - a passenger in the car Smith hit - were taken to the hospital, where the boy later died.

Smith was suffering from a gunshot wound at the time of the accident, and hit the other car after running a red light.

During opening statements of the trial last week, both the prosecution and the defense played video from the red light camera that captured the crash, as well as dashcam footage.

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The video showed Smith’s car speeding through a red light at the intersection of Southeast Stark Street and Southeast 102nd Avenue, before t-boning the other car.

The state argued that Smith was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the accident.

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

Smith’s lawyer did not dispute that Smith caused the crash, telling the jury he wanted Smith to be held criminally responsible for the death of the boy, but on a lesser charge.

His lawyer played dashcam video from Smith’s car five minutes before the crash, in which multiple gunshots can be heard, as well as Smith shouting that he had been shot, before starting to drive himself to the hospital.

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The defense argued Smith could not be found guilty of manslaughter because of the way the law is written.

Smith would have had to have been driving recklessly, knowing that his actions could cause an accident, and 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.

Ultimately, the jury agreed, finding Smith guilty of just the single, lesser charge.

Sentencing will be determined at a later date.