MEDFORD, Ore. – A man accused in a deadly road rage incident from 2017 is finally going to trial 3 and a half years later. In December of 2017, 25-year-old motorcyclist Kevin Mayo died on I-5 in Medford. Police charged a man in his death and said it was road rage. It’s a long time coming for the family of Kevin Mayo. Family members have continually voiced their concerns as this trial kept getting delayed. Now they’re finally hoping to see justice this week.
“It’s just heartbreaking every day to live without him,” said Lisa Mayo, Kevin’s mother back in 2019.
The trial of Oregon v. Raleigh Rodrigues finally began Tuesday with attorneys on both sides laying out their case in opening arguments.
“As the evidence will show they’ll see the events that I just described Mr. Rodrigues swerving into leading to Kevin Mayo’s death,” said the prosecution.
However, the defense team said Kevin was driving like a maniac.
“Raleigh Rodrigues did not cause this accident Mr. Mayo’s driving and aggression did,” said the defense.
Police said 68-year old Raleigh Rodrigues deliberately ran Mayo off the road on December 14th, 2017. Mayo co-owned a local denture center.
Prosecutors told us after the crash that it was all witnessed by numerous people and even caught on video. That only made it more frustrating for mayo’s large family to go through the process over a span of years.
“It’s disgusting to have to sit in a room with a man who killed our son. And he’s not in shackles and he’s not in a prison jumpsuit. It’s disgusting that he gets to walk around a free man and he gets to drive around and be a danger to everybody else on the road,” said Lisa.
Their frustrations with the justice system led them to protest the delays in Medford last December.
“Our family needs closure and we can’t get it. The justice, whether it’s good, bad, or otherwise. We need our day in court,” said Chris Mayo, Kevin’s father.
This week it appears they’ll get it. Whether a conviction comes, will be up to the jury.
Wednesday the DA’s office said it’ll call several other witnesses to the stand. If Rodrigues is found guilty of manslaughter, he could face a minimum of 10 years behind bars.
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