The Oregonian is reporting that 31-year old Kevin Stevenson is in serious condition after a traffic altercation resulted in him being dragged 150 feet by a vehicle near NE Couch Street and Sandy Blvd.
We have not confirmed any details of the story with the Portland Police Bureau, but according to The Oregonian the incident occured at 1:15 am Thursday morning. Here’s an excerpt from their story:
Several bicyclists were going eastbound on East Burnside near Sandy Boulevard when a vehicle seemed to be tailgating them, said Detective Mary Wheat, a police spokeswoman.
When the vehicle started to go around, one of the bicyclists started yelling at the driver. Wheat said the bicyclist leaned into the passenger window of the vehicle and tried to grab the driver, apparently upset because the car was too close to the cyclists.
… Dispatchers were told the man was dragged by a vehicle and finally dropped near Northeast Couch Street and Sandy Boulevard.
Wheat said the injured man suffered road rash, and his shoe was torn up. He was riding a bicycle without gears or brakes.
The article says that Stevenson was riding with his girlfriend, Kate Darnall, at the time of the altercation. The Oregonian spoke to Darnall’s family and they say Stevenson “yelled at the vehicle” after it passed them, causing the driver to back up. When the driver got near them, Darnall alleges that her boyfriend was “grabbed by the driver and a passenger in the back seat, then dragged until the heels of his shoes were in tatters.”
Stevenson was taken to the burn center at Legacy Emanuel Hospital and was currently listed in serious condition as of Thursday afternoon.
The case is still being investigated and has been turned over to the Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division.
We realize there are a lot of unanswered questions with this story and we’ll plan on finding out more details tomorrow.
Updated on Saturday, August 15th:
The Oregonian has published an update to this story. They report that police have interviewed the victim and another witness again, and now believe that Stevenson was grabbed by the passenger and driver rather than the other way around.
According to the new story, police are still searching for the vehicle, but are not releasing any identifying details except that it had out-of-state plates.
Stevenson is still hospitalized, in serious condition with multiple injuries, the story reports.
The original story on the Oregonian, which quotes the police statement that the man on the bike tried to grab the person driving the car, and adds that he was riding without gears or brakes, has more comments than any other current news story.