On May 19,1983, Diane Downs drove her three small children to a Williamette Valley hospital emergency room in the Springfield area of Lane County, Oregon. All three had been shot and were critically wounded. One did not survive, and the other two were disabled for life.

Diane said that a stranger approached her and demanded her car. When she refused to hand over the keys, she stated that he leaned into the car and fired, killing one of the children and wounding the other two. 

Diane says he then turned back to her. They struggled and she was shot, as the attacker fell back during the struggle, Diane said she got back into the car and immediately drove to the nearest hospital. 

Downs, who is now imprisoned, is eligible for parole in 2009.