to the victim of a bike/truck collision at
SE Grand and Stark this morning.
(Photos J. Maus)
This morning at just before 9:00 am, a man driving a Ford F150 XL pickup and a woman riding a 1980s Peugeot ten-speed style bicycle collided in the intersection of SE Stark and SE Grand Ave in Portland’s Central Eastside.
According to medical personnel on the scene, the woman on the bike (who looked to be between 20-25 years of age) sustained facial and head trauma and was taken to OHSU for further evaluation. She was coherent and was able to make a statement to officers before being taken away on a stretcher.*
The driver of the truck told me that he was headed east on Stark and making a left turn to go north on Grand (it’s a one-way street). He said the woman on the bike was headed west on Stark, came through the intersection, and collided with the right rear of his truck.
The impact shattered the window of the rear cab window of the truck.
A police officer on the scene said none of the witnesses have a clear version of what happened. “The question of who had the light, that’s going to be the issue.”
When I asked the driver of the truck what happened, he said “the light turned red while I was in the intersection” and added that, “the cars were stopped (adjacent to the woman on the bike at Stark) and she continued through (the intersection)”.
Based on the driver’s explanation, it seems both he and the woman on the bike went through a yellow light (unless, as a commenter below pointed out, the driver entered with a green but waited so long to turn left that the light turned yellow).
In Oregon, going through an intersection on a yellow light is illegal (ORS 811.260 (3)). However, there is an exception (pointed out by a comment below) that says, “if a driver cannot stop in safety, the driver may drive cautiously through the intersection.”
[*UPDATE] A commenter below who claims to be the bike rider’s friend writes in to say,
“she was released this afternoon. No fractures or other major injuries, as I understand it, but she will need some stitches on her face”
[*UPDATE – 10/30, 10:50am] I followed up with Traffic Division Lieutenant Bryan Parman about this collision. The police have cited the driver of the truck for making a dangerous left turn. Witness statements helped confirm that the women riding the bike entered the intersection with a green light. Therefore, because a collision occurred, the truck driver was cited for the dangerous turn.