*[Updated: 10/18, 11:00am – added victim’s name. 4:48pm – added link to Oregonian audio]
A bicyclist died after he struck a telephone pole while riding on the sidewalk near Belmont and 34th in southeast Portland.
The incident occurred on October 1st and according to the Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office, the victim (who was homeless) succumbed to head injuries on October 8th. He was not wearing a helmet.
*Since his family has not been found, his identity remains unknown. The Oregonian reports that the victim was 45 year-old Curtis Lee Web.
According to sources, the bicyclist had a blood alcohol level of .383, over four times the legal limit. At the time of the incident, a witness called 911 and the dispatcher sent out the fire department.
This is the fifth bicycle fatality in Portland this year and three of the last nine fatalities have involved a homeless person.
Daniel Hunt died on August 21 of this year from a skull fracture that occurred after he and another bicyclist collided near the intersection of SE 11th and Stark on August 12th. Back in 2005, a homeless man was killed in a hit-and-run when he was struck by a motorist on a freeway on ramp in North Portland.
*Oregonian reporter Lynne Terry featured this story and an interview with me in her Today in Oregon Podcast. I’ve snipped out this part only from her show today:
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[audio:http://www.bikeportland.org/audio/oregonianHomelessFatality.mp3]
NOTE: I have updated the post with the identity of the victim. Unfortunately, the person at the Medical Examiner’s office didn’t feel I deserved to know the name because they did not share it with me when I called yesterday. I think next time I’ll just say I’m from the Oregonian.