Lyle man convicted for criminal vehicular operation

Published 2:50 pm Sunday, May 15, 2016

A Lyle man convicted of a gross misdemeanor after he crashed at a stop sign after reading a text message was resentenced Thursday after violating his probation.

Randy Dale Hare, 58, was sentenced for criminal vehicular operation causing bodily harm and .08 or more within two hours of driving. Hare faces two years of supervised probation with a stayed jail term of nearly a year if he violates the conditions of his probation. He is also subject to 90 days of electronic alcohol monitoring at home.

Hare was originally convicted of the same charge in October 2015, but has since had two probation violations, each time sentenced with a gross misdemeanor choice. Two other charges — gross misdemeanor driving after cancellation and misdemeanor fourth-degree DWI — were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

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At about 4:11 p.m. on Feb. 17, 2015, Mower County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a two-vehicle collision with injuries at the intersection of County Road 5 and 19 in Nevada Township. Deputies saw a 2001 Buick Park Avenue with heavy front-end damage and a 1992 Ford F-150 truck in the northwest ditch of the intersection, according to court records.

The Adams Police Department talked to the driver of the truck, Hare, and deputies talked to the driver of the Buick, who said he was having a lot of knee pain.

The Buick driver said he was westbound on County Road 5 when the Ford pulled in front of him from southbound County Road 19. The driver said he didn’t have time to stop or avoid the collision.

He declined to be transported to the hospital by ambulance and said his son would take him to a hospital for examination. He was given an “Extent of Injury” release form for the doctor to fill out, which was later classified as “bodily harm.”

Hare had blood at the left temple area of his head and was treated by medical personnel and told officers he didn’t have a valid driver’s license. Deputies later learned his license was canceled as inimical to public safety.

Court records show he stopped at the stop sign, received a text message and looked down to read it. He then drove into the intersection without checking again for traffic.

Deputies detected alcohol odor on Hare and when questioned, Hare admitted to consuming “about four drinks earlier.” A blood sample later revealed Hare’s blood alcohol concentration to be 0.102.