HERMISTON — A Hermiston man is heading to prison for the March hit-and-run that ended a woman’s life.

Anthony Solis Lemus, 25, pleaded no contest on Oct. 2, in Umatilla County Circuit Court in Hermiston to driving under the influence of intoxicants and second-degree manslaughter.

According to court records, Circuit Judge Dan Hill sentenced Lemus per a plea agreement to the mandatory minimum sentence of six years, three months, in prison for the manslaughter and a concurrent sentence of 364 days for drunken driving. In addition, Lemus has a $200 fine, three years of post-prison supervision and revocation of Oregon driving privileges for life.

Hermiston police reported the case started at 2:37 a.m. March 11, when officers received a report that a vehicle may have struck a person at West Orchard Avenue and South First Street, leaving her in the road.

Officers found Jennifer Whelan, 43, a transient, in the road. She was unconscious but breathing, and an ambulance rushed her to Good Shepherd Medical Center. She suffered a skull fracture and other injuries, and an aircraft ambulance flew her to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, Portland.

Whelan was on life support, but her family made the decision to end those measures March 16, the same day a Umatilla County grand jury indicted Lemus on charges of DUII, reckless driving and two counts for felony assault on Whelan.

With her death, however, the grand jury, was reconvened on March 23, and added the manslaughter charge.