Before sentencing the 27-year-old driver who was high on medical marijuana when he struck and killed a Portland bicyclist, Judge Michael Greenlick talked to him about the dangers of driving under the influence of pot -- medicinal or not.

"One of the things that greatly concerned me when marijuana was legalized ... was that we'd see more situations like this," Greenlick told Kenneth Britt Smith during the Thursday hearing in Multnomah County Circuit Court. "I assume you know that your marijuana smoking days are over, at least while you're on post-prison supervision for this."

Greenlick then sentenced Smith to 61/4 years in prison for striking cyclist Martin Greenough near Northeast 42nd Avenue and Lombard Street with his 2000 Ford Crown Victoria. The crash happened Dec. 12, 2015, less than six months after recreational marijuana became legal in Oregon and officials ramped up public saftey campaigns against driving while high.

Greenough, 38, died at the scene.

Smith drove off and was caught eight minutes later, about three miles away. Police said he smelled of burnt marijuana, moved slowly and had bloodshot eyes and droopy eyelids. He told investigators he had a medical marijuana card and smoked pot about 61/2 hours earlier.

Greenough's mother, brother and sister attended the sentencing hearing. His brother, Kevin Greenough, said there are no words to describe the "pain and devastation" that his family has experienced.

"The pain and misery has only gotten worse as we fully grasp what's been taken from us," Kevin Greenough said. "...We miss Marty every minute of every day. There is no length of time that will lessen the impact of what's been taken away from us."

Tears dropped from his sister's face as he spoke. Some members of Smith's family also wept.

Smith looked solemn, and when it was his turn to speak he said: "I never intended for any of this to happen. ...I'm deeply sorry."

Smith had no prior criminal history. Earlier this month, he pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, driving under the influence of intoxicants and hit-and-run driving.

The crash happened in darkness, at about 8:30 p.m. Authorities say Smith was driving about 45 mph. Greenough was pedaling home from work, had a rear red flashing bike light and was wearing a helmet when the car struck him along a 200-foot section of Northeast Lombard Street that doesn't have a bike lane because the road narrows to travel under the Northeast 42nd Avenue overpass, investigators say.

After he was arrested, Smith said he had veered to the right to avoid another car that had swerved at him.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Smith's 16-year-old foster son told police he had been asleep in the car and awoke upon hearing a loud "boom" from the windshield, which was badly damaged. Investigators believe Greenough, upon impact, rolled onto the hood of the Crown Victoria.

Four months after the fatal crash, the dead cyclist's family filed a $3.6 million lawsuit against Smith for driving while high -- as well as the city of Portland and the state of Oregon for road design the family says puts cyclists in grave danger.

The suit faults the city and the Oregon Department of Transportation for failing to take action to improve the so-called "pinch point" on Northeast Lombard Street -- where the bicycle lane disappears because of the narrowing roadway -- when government officials allegedly knew it posed a risk to cyclists.

Smith must serve all 75 months of his prison sentence. He will have no opportunity for early release. His driver's license will be revoked for life.

-- Aimee Green

503-294-5119