The family of Phillip Rivera, a 52-year-old Salem man killed by a driver high on marijuana, filled up a Marion County courtroom Thursday to speak at the sentencing of the woman accused of causing his death — so much so that the hearing had to be moved to bigger rooms twice.

It had been more than three years since Jessica Macken, 39, of Amity, was accused of smoking marijuana two hours before she got behind the wheel of her SUV to drive her children to her father's house.

On the way, she failed to negotiate a turn on Nusom Road NE east of Salem and drove into the oncoming lane, colliding head-on with Rivera's car.

That vehicle, a Honda Civic, was being driven by Mario Pacheco Jr., of Silverton. Rivera and Pacheco were co-workers at Highland Laboratories in Mt. Angel.

Pacheco, Macken and her two children, then ages 10 and 13, were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Rivera died at the scene.

Holding her husband's ashes in court, Rivera's wife, Rita Cardona, recounted their last moments together.

Last words were 'I love you'

Rivera woke up early on March 11, 2016, and she made him breakfast. He kissed her goodbye and told her he loved her, then left for his job as a mechanic.

He called her on his breaks to chat. On his way home, he rang her again and they made plans for Friday night.

His last words to her were, "I love you."

Another call came in from his phone soon after. The minute Cardona picked up the phone, she knew something was terribly wrong. The man on the phone was not her husband, it was his co-worker.

He told her there was a crash and Rivera was hurt.

He held the phone up to Rivera's ear and his wife talked to him.

"Baby, I'm here," she said. "It's going to be okay. I love you."

He didn't say anything but she could hear him struggling to breathe.

He died before she got to see him again.

After the crash, Macken was arrested on manslaughter, DUI, endangerment and assault charges. Macken pleaded guilty in February to criminally negligent homicide, DUI and fourth-degree assault. The remaining charges against her were dismissed.

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Marion County Judge Tracy Prall sentenced Macken to six years and three months in prison. Her driver's license was revoked for life.

Driver had no criminal history prior to crash

Following the crash, a deputy who was certified as a drug recognition expert examined Macken at the hospital and determined she was under the influence of marijuana.

A blood draw had been secured prior to the deputy's arrival that showed the drug was present in her system.

Following her arrest, Macken's friends and family submitted 35 pages of letters attesting to her character.

They described her as a hardworking single mother who ran a local coffee stand, volunteered to help the homeless and helped as a caregiver to her ailing grandparents.

She had no criminal history prior to the crash.

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Those who wrote in support of Macken said she would never intentionally hurt anyone and insisted the crash was a "tragic accident." Some said she was not as high as investigators said she was.

Even though using marijuana in Oregon is legal, pairing the drug with driving is not. Oregon has no defined THC limit for marijuana DUIs and instead relies on officers' observations.

At her sentencing, Macken apologized to Cardona and her family for their suffering.

"I hope the time I will be serving offers some amount of closure, and I'm sorry I wasn't able to do more," she said.

In a statement to the court, Macken's father Sid Macken apologized to Rivera's family and said that he and his family were also victims in the crash.

"The district attorney may add a win to their record but it is not a clean win," he said. "There is not justice for Phillip, for Jessica, or for our families in sending this kind and gentle person to prison."

There was no honor in how her conviction was accomplished, he said, adding that winning seemed more important than her actual guilt.

'It will never be enough'

Sid Macken said his daughter's decision to plead guilty for the sake of her children was one of the "finest examples of personal courage" he'd ever witnessed.

He said she faced the possibility of a decade in prison barred from contact with her children if she took the case to trial. Instead, she chose to plead guilty.

"She agreed to go to prison so she wouldn't lose her children," he said.

After the sentencing, Cardona said only six years in prison wasn't just.

"It's not enough," she said. "It will never be enough."

She said Macken fought the charges and made excuses since the crash, dragging court proceedings on for 37 months.

She remembered the feeling of finding out he died — "like a punch in the gut" — and wishing it was all a dream.

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Cardona said Rivera, the loving father of 10 in their blended family, had 14 grandchildren and was always the life of the party, holidays and camping trips. He spoiled his grandchildren with Fruity Pebbles and ice cream for meals and was a die-hard Oakland Raiders fan.

His family donned Raiders sweaters and shirts at Macken's sentencing.

Before Macken was handcuffed and led away in tears, Rivera's family spoke to her.

"I want you to know that your sentence will never ever be enough for the life that you took," his sister-in-law Esmeralda Martinez said. "It sickens me that you were able to be free for the last three years living your life as normal and we have had to wait as you dragged this trial out."

She said Macken shouldn't have been driving after smoking marijuana, especially with her children in the car.

"But I will tell you that if my brother-in-law were here, he would tell me to find forgiveness," Martinez said. "If I ever do (forgive you), it'll be for him."

As she delivered her sentence, Prall said forgiveness may never come, but she encouraged Rivera's family to keep moving forward, loving their families and treating their grandchildren to Fruity Pebbles and ice cream.

"You're right," Prall said. "No sentence, no amount of time, no punishment is ever going to bring him back."

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodwort@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-399-6884 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth

