Henry Charles Pemberton pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide with a deadly weapon for the accident that killed 37-year-old Neil Oleson in July 2008. Pemberton was also ordered to pay the family $15,052 in restitution, perform 350 hours community service and spend 180 days in Bell County Jail.
Judge Joe Carroll of 27th State District Court recommended the community service after the victim’s father said he didn’t want to see Pemberton’s life ruined by the incident and requested probation and “about a week” in jail for him. He also said he would like Pemberton to help educate young people about driver safety.
On July 1, 2008, Pemberton received a phone call from his mother alerting him that his sister had been involved in a car accident and was headed to Scott & White Memorial Hospital.
Pemberton got into a 2000 Lexus and began driving from his house in Morgan’s Point to his mother’s home in Belton. While on state Highway 317 in Temple, Pemberton tried to pass a car on a stretch of road where passing is prohibited.
Pemberton did not see Oleson riding his motorcycle northbound until just before he crashed into him with his left front fender. The accident severed Oleson’s left leg at the knee. He suffered head injuries and died at Scott & White within 24 hours.
An investigation at the accident scene indicated Pemberton was traveling 67 miles per hour and Oleson 52 miles per hour when the two collided.
“I feel terrible about this. I made a mistake. I’m not a bad person,” Pemberton told a court-appointed investigator, according to court documents.
