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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Room for improvement ... Electric Highway aims to spark more EV use ... Rogue River man held on murder charge ... Room for improvement ... Electric Highway aims to spark more EV use ... Rogue River man held on murder charge ... HIT AND RUN Driver sentenced after hitting bicyclist Victim suffered broken vertebrae Comment By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 15, 2015 at 11:17 AM Updated Jan 15, 2015 at 4:34 PM By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 15, 2015 at 11:17 AM Updated Jan 15, 2015 at 4:34 PM » Social News A Phoenix driver who hit a bicyclist in White City and left him behind with broken vertebrae will serve 30 days in jail. Timothy Lee McNamara, 31, was also sentenced this week in Jackson County Circuit Court to three years of probation and will lose his driver's license for one year. He will serve an additional 30 days in jail for a separate attempt-to-elude-police case, said Jackson County Deputy District Attorney Brandon Thueson. Thueson said the bicyclist suffered fractures to his thoracic vertebrae. "He did recover. He's not paralyzed," Thueson said, noting the victim received a financial settlement from McNamara's insurance company because of his injuries. The thoracic vertebrae are in the upper back, in the rib cage area. About 1:30 a.m. on June 28, 2014, Walter Nitowski, 54, was riding his bike east on Avenue C near 30th Street when McNamara, who was driving north on 30th, ran a stop sign and struck him,. McNamara drove off without stopping to help Nitowski, according to a police affidavit. The next day, a relative of McNamara told police McNamara had been the one who hit the bicyclist. According to police interviews with friends and acquaintances of McNamara, he had been drinking at a party and then drove away with a friend about 1 a.m. McNamara dropped the friend off and then continued driving toward home. About 30 minutes later, McNamara called the friend and claimed he hit a deer. The friend spent the next few days trying to help McNamara fix the car, still under the impression McNamara had hit a deer. Only later did McNamara tell the friend he actually hit a person, according to a police affidavit. When interviewed by police, McNamara fabricated the name of a person and said that person had been driving and hit the bicyclist. A woman who hosted the party the night of the incident confirmed to police nobody by the name McNamara gave as the driver had been at the party, and she knew no one by that name, according to the police affidavit. McNamara was arrested on July 1, 2014. Before reaching a plea agreement and pleading guilty to one count of failure to perform the duties of a driver to an injured person this week, McNamara had faced charges of two counts of failure to perform the duties of a driver to an injured person, third-degree assault and reckless driving. Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-776-4486 or [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous . By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 15, 2015 at 11:17 AM Updated Jan 15, 2015 at 4:34 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501