NEWPORT — A Cottage Grove man who killed his 20-year-old son in a drunken driving accident just north of Seal Rock in June 2020 was sentenced Monday to nearly 12 years in prison.
Christopher Paschall, 52, was sentenced to 11.8 years in prison by Lincoln County Circuit Judge Sheryl Bachart. A jury convicted Paschall Dec. 10 of first and second-degree manslaughter, drunken and reckless driving.
Paschall will also be under three years of post-prison supervision and had his driver’s license suspended for the rest of his life. Paschall had been arrested twice previously for driving under the influence, according to the Lincoln County District Attorney’s office.
Paschall was headed north on U.S. Highway 101 north of Seal Rock on June 26, 2020, when his vehicle left the road and crashed into a tree. His son, James Paschall, 20, was a passenger and died at the scene.
Tests later determined that Paschall had a blood alcohol level of 0.20 percent, more than twice the legal limit for driving of 0.08 percent.
Two months later a Lincoln County grand jury returned a secret indictment, but Paschall was not arrested until Jan. 17, 2021 when he came to the attention of Oregon State Police wildlife troopers near Cottage Grove.
Paschall posted $25,000 bond soon after his January arrest and fled to Alaska, where he was eventually re-arrested by U.S. marshals and Oregon State Police. The district attorney’s office is asking that his $25,000 bond that was forfeited be used to help cover extradition and other trial costs.
According to James Paschall’s obituary, he had grown up in Nova Scotia, Canada but had recently returned to Oregon to work in construction with his father.
