Police arrested a Coos Bay man Monday afternoon on charges relating to the death of University student Brian Reams.
A vehicle struck and killed Reams when he was trying to cross Hilyard Street more than three months ago.
Eugene police arrested 23-year-old Aaron Vernon Heyer on felony charges of failure to perform duties of a driver to an injured person.
A Cadillac sedan struck Reams, a 22-year-old originally from Pocatello, Idaho, when he tried walking across Hilyard Street at 15th Avenue March 4. The driver didn’t stop, and Reams was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he later died.
Officers involved in the Eugene Police Department’s Forensic Investigation Reconstruction Survey Team have been investigating the case since March.
Heyer and his friends from Coos Bay were visiting Eugene that weekend, according to police.
Eugene Police Department spokeswoman Kerry Delf said she could release few details because the case would likely be handed over to the district attorney’s office.
She did say officers arrested Heyer based on probable cause through physical evidence and witness interviews. Officers talked to witnesses who were at the scene and those who knew Heyer.
On Monday, Heyer met with Eugene Police Department Officer Ben Hall, who has been heading the case, and Heyer was arrested.
Marty Hermens, president of Reams’ fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, said he was happy to hear the news.
“It had been a little while, but we never lost hope,” Hermens said Tuesday. “We knew the police and district attorney were doing their jobs. Sometimes it just takes time.”
Hermens said those close to Reams were not focusing on the criminal aspect of the case.
“Our main concern was not getting closure from finding this guy, but it was being tighter and trying to be a family,” Hermens said.
The suspect’s father, Alan Heyer, would not comment on his son’s arrest.
“The truth will come out,” he said.
Heyer is lodged at the Lane County Jail.
According to Heyer’s MySpace page, he attended Marshfield High School in Coos Bay until 2002.
Contact the crime, health and safety reporter at [email protected]