Jamestown man sentenced in 2022 death of bicyclist

JAMESTOWN, N.D. — A 76-year-old Jamestown man was sentenced Monday, Sept. 18, in Southeast District Court in the 2022 death of a 20-year-old Illinois man whose bicycle was struck by a vehicle while riding near Jamestown.

James Lees previously pleaded guilty to negligent homicide, a Class C felony, in the death of Timothy St. John, Northbrook, Illinois. The charge of leaving the scene of an accident, a Class B felony, was dropped.

Judge James Hovey sentenced Lees to five years in the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with the five years suspended. Hovey placed Lees on three years supervised probation and ordered him to complete 200 hours of community service to be served at no less than 10 hours per month. Hovey also made a recommendation to have Lees’ driving privileges revoked for 25 years.

Lees was accused of striking a bicycle ridden by St. John on North Dakota Highway 20 on June 19, 2022. Lees’ vehicle struck the rear tire, pushing the bicycle and rider into the west ditch, the North Dakota Highway Patrol said in a news release about the accident in June 2022.

Court documents say Lees said at the time of the accident that he didn’t see the bicycle. Lees left the scene of the accident and spoke with his grandson. They then notified law enforcement officers and returned to the scene.

St. John was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lees said in court on Monday that he stopped immediately because he thought his vehicle struck something. He said another motorist stopped and another individual who lives near the scene also came to check what happened. He said all three checked around and only found parts of a bicycle and didn’t hear anybody. Lees said one individual told him that it looked like he struck a bicycle that fell off a camper.

When Lees arrived at his home, he said his wife and grandson saw the damage on the vehicle and knew they had to go back to the scene. He said his grandson told Lees that he passed a cyclist on his way to Jamestown.

Stutsman County State’s Attorney Fritz Fremgen, who prosecuted the case, recommended a sentence of five years in the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with all but 14 days suspended. He also recommended a 25-year suspension of Lees’ driving privileges.

Fremgen said Lees has had cataract surgery in the past and had meningitis in 2020 that caused retinal bleeding. He said Lees also has a blind spot on his left eye but it doesn’t affect him when he looks around naturally. He said the most recent vision information from June 30, 2022, indicates his vision is correctable to 20/60.

“So what a normal person can see at 60 feet, Mr. Lees has to be 20 feet from it to see it,” he said.

Fremgen said Lees either has vision problems or wasn’t paying attention. He said the accident occurred in broad daylight about 10 miles north of Jamestown and the highway had no obstructions. He said the road surface is straight at the location of the accident.

“So take your pick: He either doesn’t pay attention or he can’t see,” Fremgen said. “They are both bad.”

Julie St. John, the mother of the victim, told the judge during Lees’ sentencing hearing that her son was a nationally ranked triathlete who had a right to ride his bicycle on Highway 20.

“It’s the responsibility of the driver to go around a cyclist,” she said.

She said it’s “unfathomable” that someone with vision problems was driving. She said she has to live with the reality that people left the scene of an accident and left her son to die.

Jeff St. John, the victim’s father, said the death was very preventable. He said he wondered why Lees was even driving that day after hearing about his vision problems. He said it’s not normal to not swerve, have sizable damage to his vehicle and drive home without calling anyone.

He also said he knows the incident was not an intentional act but should have never happened and should not happen to anyone else.

Lees said the word “tragic” fits the situation well. He said he never envisioned being involved in a fatal accident.

“I am so sorry for what’s happened and I can understand the way they feel,” he said.

Lees also said he thinks about the accident every day.

“I wake up with it; I go to bed with it,” he said.

Hovey also ordered Lees to pay court fees and not to own or possess firearms. He said the restitution will be left to the civil matter.

A lawsuit seeking damages from Lees by the St. John family is pending in U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota.

Masaki Ova joined The Jamestown Sun in August 2021 as a reporter. He grew up on a farm near Pingree, N.D. He majored in communications at the University of Jamestown, N.D.