scene at 2:17pm.
More photos below
(Photo © Jonathan Maus)
A bicyclist died in a collision with a garbage truck sometime around 12:30 today at the northwest corner of N. Interstate and Greeley in North Portland. I’m on the scene right now and just finished talking with Traffic Division Lieutenant Mark Kruger as well as other people on the scene.
Based on those conversations, here’s what seemed to have happen:
- The bicyclist (who was in a marked bike lane) and the truck were traveling south (downhill) on N. Interstate Ave.
- The truck overtook the cyclist mid-way down the hill.
-
The truck signaled a turn to go right (south) on Greeley and then
it collided with the bicyclistthe bike and truck collided with each other.
According to Kruger, the driver says he checked his mirrors before making the turn and he also had a passenger with him when the collision occurred.
The police have done blood work on the driver and initial statements say there appears to be no impairment involved.
The scene:
The truck came to a stop at the apex of the corner of N. Interstate and Greeley. The intersection is the first intersection at the end of a long (and fast if you’re on a bike) downhill that begins up at Overlook Park. The bike is still wedged almost entirely beneath the rear wheels of the truck. It appears to be a high-end black Orbea road bike.
A few news crews were on the scene (I just did an interview with KGW) and I expect coverage on the local TV stations tonight at 5:00.
I imagine it will be several hours before we know the identity of the victim. Lt. Kruger says it was a male in what appeared to be his mid-30s. The medical examiner is not able to release the name yet. The victim was Brett Jarolimek.
Note: This is within several yards of where that cyclist was involved with a strange run-in with a MAX train a few weeks ago.
More photos from the scene (These were all taken from 2:10 to 2:30pm):
(Photo © Jonathan Maus)
*Note: If you’re trying to reach me by phone, I dropped it in water this morning and it’s still not working. Please use email if you can – jonathan[at]bikeportland[dot]org.