A 28 year old man is in jail this morning for his role in a crash that killed a woman who was walking her bicycle in the bike lane on SW Barbur Boulevard last night.
looking south, just north of the driveway
entrance to an apartment complex.
According to the Portland Police Bureau, Caleb Pruitt was driving his 2008 Subaru Impreza southbound on Barbur about a half-mile south of Hamilton Street “at a high rate of speed.” He then lost control of his car and struck and killed 26-year old Angela Burke. According to the PPB and media reports, Burke was walking her bicycle in the bike lane (also headed southbound) prior to the collision.
The PPB has booked Pruitt into the Multnomah County Jail on charges of DUII and Criminally Negligent Homicide.
It’s still not clear to me where exactly the woman was struck. However, I’ve heard from the PPB that the collision occurred “just north” of the entrance to the Town and Country Apartments (4820 SW Barbur), which are on the opposite side of the street. If Burke lived there, she might have been trying to cross the street to get home. (See map at top of post).
The investigation is ongoing. If you saw anything or have additional information, please call Traffic Division Officer Barry Busse at (503) 823-2216.
Here’s a video report by KGW-TV with images from the scene:
This section of Barbur, which is a high-speed state highway, has no sidewalks and is not very well lit. Have you visited and “liked” the Friends of Barbur group on Facebook yet?
[Also last night, someone walking in the intersection of North Lombard (also a state highway) and North Ida Avenue was struck by a motor vehicle. A 21-year old man suffered several injuries and was transported to the hospital. The injuries were not life-threatening.]