[Updated 2:33 pm, 2:50 pm, 3:19 pm]
A cyclist was killed around 1:30 pm today in downtown Portland.
According to Portland Police Bureau Lieutenant Mark Kruger, 19 year-old PNCA student Tracey Sparling collided with a cement mixing truck at the corner of W Burnside and 14th (photos below – Google Map of location).
Here is what Lt. Kruger can report after an initial investigation:
The truck was headed northbound on SW 14th Ave. and it came to a stop at a red light on W. Burnside. When the truck’s light turned green, the truck began to turn right (eastbound) onto W. Burnside. At that point, somehow a bicycle collided with the truck.
Kruger said they cannot tell what type of movement (if any) the bicyclist was making before the collision. He said there were no skid marks from the bicycle tire.
Oregonian reporter Stuart Tomlinson used to ride through that same intersection. He reports that witnesses in the restaurant directly adjacent to the corner say both the truck and the cyclist were stopped, but when the light turned green the cyclist went straight and the truck turned right.
[*Warning: The photo of the crash scene (below) might be unsettling for some viewers.]
Lt. Kruger described the bicycle as a green singlespeed Nishiki “Citysport” road bike with front and rear brakes. The victim was reportedly a female. The Oregonian is also reporting that a witness said “she was very young and carrying books in a shoulder bag.”
Lt. Kruger and his team will continue their investigation and I will share more details as they come in.
Here is a photo of the scene taken about 30 minutes after the collision:
It’s hard to tell what happened from this photo alone and we should reserve coming to any conclusions until we know more from Police investigators.