MCMINNVILLE, Ore. (KATU) – The mother who was driving drunk when her adult daughter fell to her death from the back seat on a rural Yamhill County road was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation.
Meighan Cordie was found dead after investigators say she either fell or jumped from an SUV while her mother, Jennifer Weathers, was intoxicated and behind the wheel.
Weathers wasn't charged in her daughter’s death, but was arrested on charges of drunk driving. Officials say Weathers is a first-time offender on the DUII charge.
Cordie was reported missing after she and Weathers attended a wedding outside Salem on August 18. Investigators said they got into a heated argument because Weathers was upset that they had to leave early.
Weathers didn't call deputies to report her daughter missing until the next day, telling them Cordie got out of the car not far from the wedding venue after she slowed the vehicle down below 5 mph. | Audio: Cordie's mother calls police to report her daughter missing
Joggers found her body along a Yamhill County road five days later.
The state medical examiner’s office ruled Cordie’s death accidental, saying she either fell or jumped from the vehicle and was killed.
“Although this charge stemmed from her actions that night, there were no applicable Oregon criminal statutes to the death itself,” the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office said.
They said investigators had witness statements that confirmed Weathers was intoxicated after the wedding, and were able to file charges in the case.
Yamhill County Circuit Judge Cynthia L. Easterday sentenced Weathers to 36 months of probation and ordered her to serve five days in jail, a 1-year driver’s license suspension, no contact with "G.C.", alcohol treatment as a condition of her probation, must attend a victim panel, $1,000 fine, and complete a high-risk driving course.