Montana man receives 24-year prison term in Highway 97 crash near Redmond that killed Troutdale family of 4

Driver expresses 'pain, guilt and remorse'; victims' family and friends mourn lives cut short

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Montana man who took cocaine and caffeine pills for a long work-related drive and a sedative to take a nap -  then crashed head-on into an SUV on Highway 97 north of Redmond, killing a Troutdale family of four – offered a tearful apology at his emotional sentencing Monday to 24 years in prison.

But first, he got to hear for close to an hour from the family members, friends and classmates of the beloved family he killed in October 2023 through his tragic choices that day.

“I would gladly trade places with them in an instant,” said Jesse Carl Ross, 44, speaking to the family and friends of Gary Rutledge, 57, wife Michelle, 53, and their two children, Reynolds High School students Kate, 15, and Ryan, 17.

“This is like a nightmare,” he said. “It’s all I think about every day is how this could have gone differently. … I don’t wish this on my worst enemy. … No matter what the circumstances were, my situation, I have nothing but guilt, pain and remorse. I don’t blame anyone else. I take full responsibility.”

Ross initially pleaded not guilty last May to seven charges, including three counts of second-degree manslaughter and single counts of criminally negligent homicide, DUII, recklessly endangering another person and reckless driving. A judge had refused to reduce his $2 million bail and he remained behind bars.

After a lengthy settlement conference last month, Ross agreed to plead guilty to the three manslaughter, DUII and criminally negligent homicide charges, averting a trial that was scheduled to begin next week.

Deschutes County Circuit Judge Wells Ashby, who conducted the settlement talks, also imposed the agreed-upon conditions, including a lifetime revocation of Ross's driver’s license and no contact with the victims.

Ross, a wetlands engineer for Ducks Unlimited, had driven from Montana to a required work meeting in Klamath Falls at his employers’ direction and was returning home, a 13-hour drive. He’d been urged to first get some sleep at a home the organization had near Klamath Falls but said he was fine and would take a nap if needed on the way home, Deputy District Attorney Matthew Nelson said.

Ross was under “extreme pressures in his work and personal life” that prompted him to push himself, the prosecutor said, adding that it “in no way excuses his conduct” but helped to explain “why someone with no criminal or traffic history and good employment could make such a reckless and horrendous decision.”

The Rutledge family was headed to Central Oregon to view the annular eclipse when the crash occurred.

Three classmates of the two Reynolds High students spoke remotely by video of their painful loss, with a dozen others on hand, organized by a school counselor.

A close friend of Kate Rutledge said Ross “killed one of my best friends,” while another said she “talked me out of suicide” and bouts of self-harm, calling her “such a beautiful soul to be around. She made me believe in life, humans and myself.” Family members said they were both excellent, straight-A students and that Ryan topped his class and likely would have been the valdeictorian.

Judy Lepin, Michelle Rutledge’s aunt, spoke on her sister’s behalf, talking of “lives and futures lost,” of the pain of disposing of belongings, of spending Christmas with Troutdale police after a break-in at the family’s home before it was sold. Of having not one but three attorneys, dealing with insurance companies and having to repeat so many times to others the basic, tragic details that brought pained, sympathetic reactions.

“Having to deal with everyone else’s emotions, but having no time to deal with our own,” she said.

The initial not guilty plea and months of waiting for resolution of the case meant “we have become Mr. Ross’s living victims,” she said.

Ross’s attorney, Bryan Donahue, offered some context - but no excuses. He told of his client’s wheelchair-bound wife after 18 spinal surgeries, and how Ross had several bouts of shingles that year. But in the end, Donahue said, “he made the wrong decision. … I know he desperately wishes he could go back and made a different choice.”

Ross said much the same, when it was his turn to speak.

"I just want to say I am truly, truly sorry, and I mean that in the most profound sense. I never meant - I never even thought something like this would happen. I'd have never taken the trip. I'd have made a lot of different decisions."

“I made several bad decisions that day and in the days leading up to it that I’ll regret for the rest of my life. And now four people are gone, because of those bad decisions,” he said. “I hope someday you can find forgiveness in your hearts for me. It’d mean a lot for me. This tragic outcome will haunt me for the rest of my life, and your guys’ too.”

Ashby thanked Ross for his comments and plans to share his story, advising: “You honor the lives of the people you’ve taken in how you live your life moving forward.”

To the others in the courtroom, Ashby said he hopes each day brings “a little more relief than the day before. Not everyone will agree with the sentence imposed by the court. I think the court has very few options when we lose the people we love.”