Keep your eyes peeled.
(Photos: PPB)

Portland Police are offering a $1,000 reward to help them find a pickup truck that was involved in a fatal hit-and-run on Saturday night.

The driver of the truck struck 26-year old Jason Grant from Vancouver as he attempted to walk across SE Foster Road near 70th (he wasn't in a marked crosswalk). Grant died of his injuries in the hospital later that evening. The driver of a green pickup was eastbound on Foster and fled the scene after the collision.

Now the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) are asking people who bike around the city to help them find the suspect vehicle.
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Yesterday we shared information about two recent hit-and-runs. Not surprisingly, an interesting discussion followed in the comments. For many, hit-and-runs get at the heart of how we get along (or don't) on our roads. Hit-and-runs also bring up the big question: Why do people leave the scene after hitting someone?

One commenter, Natalie, offered a personal story that I felt was important enough that it needed to be highlighted here on the Front Page.

Here's Natalie's comment (emphasis mine): (more...)

The Portland Police Bureau takes hit-and-runs seriously — especially when they involve someone walking or biking. I know their response to incidents doesn't satisfy everyone all of the time; but in my experience, when they have enough evidence to work with, they go after suspects until they find them.

So far this year, I've learned of two arrests that have been made. In both cases, the person driving the car hit someone riding a bike and then fled the scene. In both cases, the PPB opened an investigation and made an arrest. (more...)

Roger Peet.
(Photos courtesy Roger Peet)

36-year old Concordia neighborhood resident and artist Roger Peet got a rough start to 2012. Just about two hours into the new year he was the victim of a hit-and-run in North Portland that ruined his bike, broke his collarbone, and left him with a mountain of medical bills from his hospital visit.

Peet's girlfriend Kathryn Doherty-Chapman, a 29-year old research student at Portland State University studying urban planning and transportation, got in touch with us to tell his story; in part because she just wanted others to know about it, but also because the alleged assailant is still on the loose. (more...)

View of SE Division where a fatal collision occurred last week. Note SE 87th in the upper left hand corner.

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Intersection of SE 85th and Division.

One person died and another person was taken to the hospital suffered minor injuries after a hit-and-run in Southeast Portland early this morning. The Police say the collision happened around 1:00 am this morning on SE Division at 85th.

After arriving on the scene the officers discovered the suspect vehicle dumped at 92nd and Southeast Powell Boulevard. They are still searching for the suspect, whom they describe as a male, Hispanic 5'6 inches tall weighing about 160 pounds and may have been wearing a hat. (more...)

Intersection of Couch and Grand.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The notorious intersection of NE Couch and Grand has claimed another victim.

26-year old Laura Stanger was riding to work at 7:45 am Wednesday morning. She had a green light and was headed across Grand in the green-colored bike lane when a car directly adjacent to her suddenly — and without using a turn signal (according to Stanger) — turned right onto Grand.

The person driving the car slowed down, but then sped away. "This person obviously knew they hit me and left the scene," says Stanger. (more...)

The crash happened near SW Market and
Naito at 9:15 am on Tuesday (4/12).

A Portland woman sustained serious injuries after being struck by a truck at 9:15 on Tuesday morning (4/12) while riding her bike on SW Naito Parkway (at SW Market). Marjin Wall is still at OHSU awaiting facial surgery and the person who hit her remains at large.

According to Wall's friend Kate LaGrand, who was riding with Wall when the collision occurred, the truck's right side-view mirror struck Wall in the head. The mirror knocked Wall unconscious "before she hit the ground," causing her to land face first on the pavement. (more...)

The door zone bike lane on Williams.
(Photo © J. Maus)

On April 7th, the Portland Police Bureau cited a man for Hit and Run in a dooring incident that occurred back in January.

According to the PPB, on January 23rd a man opened his car door after parking on N. Williams Avenue, just as a 34-year old woman happened to be biking by. The door knocked her off her bike and sent her to the pavement. The woman wasn't seriously hurt but did have some bumps and bruises and her bicycle was damaged. (more...)

Thomas Mossman.
(Photo: Oregon State Police)

67-year old Thomas Mossman died yesterday morning at OHSU. Mossman is the victim of a March 22nd hit-and-run that happened on Highway 211 just west of Molalla (about 30 miles south of Portland) on March 22nd. Mossman was riding his bike on the shoulder of the highway when he was hit. The Oregon State Police (OSP) are still looking for the person who drove their vehicle into Mossman and fled the scene.

Yesterday, Mossman's daughter issued a statement about the tragedy:

"My family and I have been devastated today because my father died from severe injuries caused by a hit & run driver. We are extremely grateful to the staff at OHSU for doing everything possible. We ask the public to please help the police find the person responsible for running him down with their vehicle and killing him."

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The collision occurred less than a mile
north of this location on Highway 30.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office is investigating a hit and run that happened early Friday morning on Highway 30 just north of NW Quarry Road (north of Sauvie Island Bridge, about 11 miles north of downtown Portland).

The man who was hit while riding his bicycle is Joseph Anderson, a Portland resident. A friend of Anderson's tells me he is "an avid cyclist." (more...)

Photo from scene of collision at
NE Lombard and 15th,
(Photos: Portland Police)

A man was struck by a large motor vehicle while he rode his bike on Lombard Street in Northeast Portland yesterday. The crash left him with very serious injuries and the person operating the motor vehicle fled the scene. Portland Police later apprehended the suspect. (more...)

The Portland Police Bureau's Traffic Division is still trying to find the person who was driving a Subaru WRX that intentionally ran into two people in two different locations within minutes of each other on September 21st near the Rose Quarter. Last week, the PPB issued an internal bulletin to all Portland police officers to be on the lookout for the vehicle and I have now received the public version of that bulletin, which includes a photo of the model of Subaru they are looking for (see photo below) and a detailed description of the car and the suspect... (more...)

The Portland Police are on the lookout for someone who intentionally drove their car into someone riding a bicycle. The crash happened Thursday (9/23) at 7:00 p.m. near the intersection of SE 150th and Main St. The person operating the bicycle sustained a dislocated shoulder and the description of the vehicle is a white mini van.

According to PPB Sgt. Todd Davis, the collision does not appear to be related to the double hit and run that occurred at the Rose Quarter last week.
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Booking photo of Mt. Hood
Ski Bowl owner Kirk Hanna.
(Photo: Multnomah County)

Regrettably, I never got to my follow-up on the story about the case of Mt. Hood Ski Bowl owner Kirk Hanna. Thankfully, The Oregonian's Anna Griffin did, so not only will the case get more attention, but it gives me a nudge to share it as well.

On August 26th, Hanna pleaded guilty to misdemeanor Hit and Run, DUII, and misdemeanor Assault. On May 23rd, Hanna was driving his Porsche Cayenne while drunk at speeds around 80 mph when he hit 45 year-old Robert Skof on SW Macadam and then left him for dead on the side of the road. Luckily, Skof suffered only a slight concussion and a few scrapes.
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Many people in the community are outraged at the light sentence given to prominent local business man and owner of Mt. Hood Ski Bowl Kirk Hanna for the drunken, 80 mph, hit-and-run he pleaded guilty to last week.

Like any high-profile case like this, there are a lot of moving parts at work; the District Attorney's office, the judge, the defense attorneys, the victim, the police, the defendant, and so on. I'll be looking into the story a bit more in the coming days, but one thing I wanted to share now is the role that the Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division played (the Traffic Division handles all our city's hit-and-run cases). (more...)

Kirk Hanna hit someone
while driving drunk at speeds
of 80 mph and did not stop.
(Photo: Multnomah County)

Kirk Hanna, owner of Mt. Hood Ski Bowl, real estate developer, and son of carwash magnate Daniel Hanna, and plead guilty to Hit and Run, DUII, and 4th degree Assault in a Multnomah County courtroom on Thursday.

According to Portland Police, Hanna, 49, was driving his Porsche SUV at speeds estimated to be 80 mph when he swerved and struck Robert Skof, ridig a bicycle on SW Macadam Ave, just north of the Sellwood Bridge on May 23rd. Hanna did not stop and witnesses say he sped up when they tried to follow him to get his license plate. The incident occurred at 2:43 am. The victim was transported to a hospital with bleeding and facial lacerations that were not life-threatening. (more...)

Two crashes involving bicycles have come across my desk in the past few days. People involved in both the crashes have asked for the public's help in tracking down the suspects.

Luckily, she wasn't riding the bike when the person ran into it.

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Blake Sharkey Steve; arrested for hit
and run and vehicular assault.
(Photo: Clackamas Co. Sheriff's Office)

Given our recent discussion of police responses to vehicular assault, I thought this story from Clackamas (about 11 miles SE of downtown Portland) that just came over the wire was interesting.

According to the Oregon State Police, at just before 2:00 today a man named Blake Sharkey Steve, 20, was talking on his cell phone while driving his GMC Suburban when he pulled out of a gas station and struck 20-year old Bonnie Ingersoll as she rode her bicycle on SE 82nd just north of Highway 224. Steve then fled the scene.

Thankfully, several witnesses saw the collision and stuck around to tell Oregon State Police troopers what had happened. One astute bystander got Steve's license plate and vehicle description and police were able to trace it to his residence and make the arrest. (more...)

31-year old Jeremy Jordan, who was sentenced to 70 months in prison after being charged with hit-and-run and DUII in November 2008, is now reaching out to the public and the media to tell his side of the story.

In the early morning hours of May 10th, 2008 an intoxicated Jordan stole beer from a Safeway store clerk (who refused to sell it to him), sped out of a parking lot and struck Eric Davidson, who was biking down NE 69th near Fremont. Jordan did not stop to check on Davidson and was caught by police shortly thereafter.

Davidson -- who was more heavily intoxicated than Jordan -- sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury from which he will never fully recover (his wife kept a daily blog of his recovery). (more...)