Fatal crash on SW Barbur last night – Updated

Red area is approximate location of collision. The woman was walking southbound (west side of street).


A 28 year old man is in jail this morning for his role in a crash that killed a woman who was walking her bicycle in the bike lane on SW Barbur Boulevard last night.

This view is from the east side of Barbur
looking south, just north of the driveway
entrance to an apartment complex.

According to the Portland Police Bureau, Caleb Pruitt was driving his 2008 Subaru Impreza southbound on Barbur about a half-mile south of Hamilton Street “at a high rate of speed.” He then lost control of his car and struck and killed 26-year old Angela Burke. According to the PPB and media reports, Burke was walking her bicycle in the bike lane (also headed southbound) prior to the collision.

The PPB has booked Pruitt into the Multnomah County Jail on charges of DUII and Criminally Negligent Homicide.

It’s still not clear to me where exactly the woman was struck. However, I’ve heard from the PPB that the collision occurred “just north” of the entrance to the Town and Country Apartments (4820 SW Barbur), which are on the opposite side of the street. If Burke lived there, she might have been trying to cross the street to get home. (See map at top of post).

The investigation is ongoing. If you saw anything or have additional information, please call Traffic Division Officer Barry Busse at (503) 823-2216.

Here’s a video report by KGW-TV with images from the scene:

This section of Barbur, which is a high-speed state highway, has no sidewalks and is not very well lit. Have you visited and “liked” the Friends of Barbur group on Facebook yet?

[Also last night, someone walking in the intersection of North Lombard (also a state highway) and North Ida Avenue was struck by a motor vehicle. A 21-year old man suffered several injuries and was transported to the hospital. The injuries were not life-threatening.]

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Dave
13 years ago

As someone who lives right off Barbur….this sucks and scares the bejesus out of me. All the more reason to back Friends of Barbur.

Andrew Plambeck
Andrew Plambeck
13 years ago

This is so sad. I work around the corner from there, and I ride and/or walk through that intersection every day.

It’s an unbelievably dangerous spot where cars seem to have no regard for traffic signals or laws. I regularly (pretty much every day) see drivers sitting in the southbound Barbur left turn lane not wait for the light and simply pull across the double-line to make a U-turn, while cross traffic is still flowing.

It’s also my most common viewpoint for the still-prominent cell phone and lack of turn signal offenses.

I would really hope, especially in light of this, that PPB will start actually enforcing this intersection. The only time I’ve seen officers there was after a two-car crash.

Rob
Rob
13 years ago

Absolutely. I would love to see strict enforcement at both the Barbur/Hamilton and Barbur/Naito intersections.

Tom Archer
13 years ago

I was almost hit one block from there on my way into work this morning. Barbur is the most dangerous stretch of my commute and there are few, if any alternate routes.

Andrew Plambeck
Andrew Plambeck
13 years ago
Reply to  Tom Archer

That’s a key point: when you’ve cut off and effectively destroyed the Lair Hill neighborhood by putting major highways on either side of it, the alternative routes that actually make it through there are extremely limited.

As to the many calls for better enforcement, maintenance and planning, this is a systemic problem with ODOT highways inside the Metro region. It’s really time we regionalize the control and funding of these arterials so that those decisions are made by folks in the region and not statewide job-creators simply serving as an empty vessel for federal stimulus funds.

The Sellwood Bridge westside interchange is nearing prohibitive cost estimates and should have been done much more efficiently, but the region didn’t get to make that call.

This and more in the City Club of Portland’s report Moving Forward: A Better Way to Govern Regional Transportation.

jram
jram
13 years ago

someone almost hit me at this same intersection last night. i was travelling northbound, and when the light changed, the cars turning across the northbound lane continued pouring through.

i hate seeing headlines with the word fatal in them, but when it occurs in a spot you travel everyday, it gets even more real.

Spiffy
Spiffy
13 years ago

weird, I saw the bicycle thing being questioned in earlier reports but now I don’t see any mention of it…

either way it must have been rough since the window of the car was shattered and it killed the 26 year old female ped…

David M
13 years ago

I was almost hit at that intersection a couple months ago. I loathe that area, between that intersection and the Barbur/Naito mess it can be pretty nerve wracking at times. Luckily the company I work for is moving downtown this week so I won’t have to go through that area anymore.

h
h
13 years ago

Not surprising… some rats tried to mow me down at a Naito Parkway crosswalk twice this morning…

nuovorecord
nuovorecord
13 years ago

Once you’re south of Hamilton, Barbur turns into a de facto freeway. No sidewalks – a total automobile sewer. My condolences to the family of the victim.

Esther
Esther
13 years ago

My thoughts & prayers go out to Ms. Burke’s family. I hope they can find some peace through the justice system and the support of our community.

You may remember Lombard and Ida as the intersection where several teenagers were hit by a driver who was blinded by morning sun a few weeks (month?) ago. Busy east-west traffic on Lombard but also tons of pedestrians due to Roosevelt high, Fred Meyer, a laundromat and salon, McDonald’s, etc. and also it’s the connection between several bikeways (Smith, Central, Willamette).

OnTheRoad
OnTheRoad
13 years ago

The drivers I wish would get ticketed are those southbound on Barbur just south of the Naito split who turn left across double double yellow lines to drop down to Corbett.

Rob
Rob
13 years ago

Before you read my next paragraph, I want to preface it by saying that this is a horrible tragedy and my condolences to anyone that is deeply affected by this. Barbur is a key part of my commute and the safety of everyone on that route is a huge concern for me. I am absolutely 100% not blaming the victim here, right now just looking for answers as to why something so sad could have happened.

From the video clip and the initial report, it makes it sound like the pedestrian was struck in the bike lane on southbound Barbur just before Hamilton. There is both a Tri-Met bus stop with a shelter here, and a sidewalk (the sidewalk ends at Hamilton). I’ve tried to figure it out, but I can’t understand why someone would want to be walking in this uber-dangerous spot on the roadway at night. 🙁 I’m hopeful that the answers to this will become clear based on ODOT’s report, and that appropriate action can be taken to make this area safe and welcoming for all modes.

That said, there’s still no excuse for the vehicle operator that veered into the bike lane and collided with her. I have zero tolerance for that, since the driver could have just as easily hit anyone cycling in that lane as well. This is also the second pedestrian fatality on Barbur in the last four months (another one occured on September 23rd at Barbur/Capitol). Unacceptable. 🙁

Adams Carroll (News Intern)
Reply to  Rob

Rob, the PPB says the collision about about 1/2 mile south of Hamilton. Looking at a map that could mean the woman was trying to cross into an apartment complex that at SW Slavin Road. I’m unsure as to exact location of the crash but that’s my hunch at this point.

Rob
Rob
13 years ago

Thanks again, JM. The sidewalk ends at Hamilton, so any pedestrian on Barbur from that point onward southboard would have to be in the shoulder/bike lane. The point on the map indicated in the video clip is totally misleading.

Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
13 years ago

What I haven’t seen in comments above (haven’t read below, yet) is that there is a marked pedestrian crossing with signs and center refuge island in this general location. Still a heck of a road to cross, but it’s “the” place to cross. There is a driveway for the apartments on the east side of the road, but contrary to all the comments above, this did not happen at an intersection. Hamilton is mentioned as the nearest intersection for reference. Sorry if I’m restating something posted below at an earlier time, but it strikes me as very relevant.

Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
13 years ago
Reply to  Machu Picchu

OK, just checked my facts. If this happened just across from Town and Country apartments, then it was prior to the very marked crossing, which would be nearer to the Rasmussen Village apts, where another commenter stated the car pulled in afterwards.

Rob
Rob
13 years ago
Reply to  Rob

Jonathan’s most recent update makes it clear as to why the victim happened to be in the bike lane, and answers my question almost as soon as I posted my comment. Thanks for your dilligent reporting, J.M.

Seems pretty open-and-shut. Pruitt should lose his license and go to jail. No plea bargain for him.

It’ll be really sad to ride past here in the future and see a ghost bike. Sucks. 🙁

jim
jim
13 years ago

There seams to be a lack of enforcement on a lot of things, after a while more people pick up on that and it gets worse

ron
ron
13 years ago
Reply to  jim

Absolutely! I a, continually amazed and alarmed at the lack of enforcement. Another tragedy due to some bonehead driving too fast. He’ll probably get a slap on the wrist. I’ll say it again, we spend billions on preventing terrorism, but ignore real threats in our own streets. The PBB needs to step in a big way.

Spiffy
Spiffy
13 years ago

wow, the update is pretty sad news…

time to slow down Barbur and put in a couple freeway ramps instead? can’t do one without the other or cars start complaining about their rights…

what’s all that I-5 construction down that way anyways?

E
E
13 years ago
Reply to  Spiffy

The construction is to replace a really old bridge that I-5 is on. But in order to replace it they have to dig out the hillside so they can put in 3 lanes to divert traffic to work on one direction of travel and then do the other.

Paul Souders
Paul Souders
13 years ago
Reply to  Spiffy

The construction is a seismic refit of the Iowa Street I-5 viaduct. There aren’t any traffic changes (same number of lanes, no new ramps). The pedestrian trail under the viaduct is also getting an upgrade.

http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION1/iowaviaduct/

A few people commented on the Friends of Barbur post that Barbur should be de-highway-fied. Someone called it a “failed street.” I completely agree. I’ve used Barbur — bike, car or bus — almost every day, at any given hour, for the last seven years. I have never seen it at anything like full auto capacity, between Sheridan and Terwilliger.

After evening rush hour Barbur’s a favored route for drunk drivers returning to the westside suburbs from downtown bars. This is actually the way some of my neighbors (Lewis & Clark students) talk about it.

This is essentially a rural highway (99W) in the middle of the city, built way before I-5 to accommodate high-speed traffic between Portland and Salem — totally unnecessary.

Lance P.
Lance P.
13 years ago

I feel so sorry for Angela Burke and her friends and family. How many people have to die before we stop approaching the right of way so completely AUTO oriented. This intersection is less than a mile from downtown.

I hope (wish) that ODOT would approach deaths caused by poor design with as much passion as they do to congestion. From an outside perspective ODOT, and the employees whom work there, look like animals for their lack of concern or drive to fix our REAL transportation issues.

ODOT should be ashamed, but unfortunately, they don’t even care.

OnTheRoad
OnTheRoad
13 years ago

OregonLive reports it happened 1/2 mile south of Hamilton and the victim was starting to cross Barbur, presumably to get to the apartments in that area.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/12/portland_police_accuse_motoris.html

Johnnie Olivan
13 years ago

be careful out there!!!

Allan Rudwick
Allan
13 years ago

Tragic. How many more have to die before design changes get funded and built? Enforcement is a temporary nuiscence. Death is permanent.

John Landolfe
John Landolfe
13 years ago

Out of respect for human life, drivers like this should never have another chance to touch a steering wheel. I work not a quarter mile from there and everyday I engage people trying to find a safe way through that neighborhood. My deepest sympathies for the woman’s friends and family.

Adams Carroll (News Intern)

Just updated story with information about location of collision and included this graphic..

Kelly
Kelly
13 years ago

Yes, this is more like it for the location. My husand and I stopped when we spotted the poor young lady at the side of the road. There was no one else around, a few people had begun to come out of the apartments across the street. Saly, she was beyond help already. I did NOT see Mr. Pruitt anywhere. I am very confused by the reports that he pulled over right away and rendered aid. He simply was NOT there. If he pulled over, it must have been MUCH farther down Barbur where I couldn’t see them.

VRytt
VRytt
13 years ago
Reply to  Kelly

I live in the Rassmussen Village Apartments, the apartment complex directly after the Town and Country apartments. Mr. Pruitt pulled into our driveway, where police arrested him. So, so sad.

Kelly
Kelly
13 years ago
Reply to  VRytt

Thank you VRytt! That explains why I didn’t see them anywhere around.

Daniel Evans
13 years ago
Reply to  Kelly

Thank you for trying to help her Kelly. What a terrible situation.

mello yello
mello yello
13 years ago

This is not about design changes. It’s about a racer wannabe(300 hp subaru impreza) drunk losing control at high speed after being surprised by a pedestrian pushing her bike across an unlit roadway in the dark of night. Here’s his facebook: http://www.facebook.com/friends/?id=1439735587#!/profile.php?id=1439735587

Ermal
Ermal
13 years ago

Subaru Impreza…imagine that. Anyone taking odds?

Lance P.
Lance P.
13 years ago
Reply to  Ermal

Could this be the same person that hit two people in the Lloyd? Johnathan, can you look into this?

Did I miss it? Again?
Did I miss it? Again?
13 years ago
Reply to  Ermal

I drive an Impreza and haven’t killed anyone yet. I must be throwing your odds off.

Let’s not start profiling based on vehicle type. There have been other fatalities and near fatalities in other vehicles.

How many people have been making the trip to SkiBowl? He (Hanna) was driving a Porsche I believe?

mello yello
mello yello
13 years ago

Gotta admit though, a lot of these youngin’s who drive the turbo imprezas are looking for cheap speed. At lease porsche drivers can afford the higher insurance premiums(supposedly).

rigormrtis
rigormrtis
13 years ago

Because then we might have to start stereotyping bike riders based upon the type of bike they ride……

Lance P.
Lance P.
13 years ago

I was referring to reports of a young male driving an Impreza in the Lloyd district that hit 2 cyclist within 3 minutes of each other about a month ago. I was not implying that all people who use Impreza’s kill people.

Jeff
Jeff
13 years ago

infrastructure changes? traffic flaws? what?

folks, this woman was killed a freaking drunk driver.

alcohol was the cause. this was not a mistake, it was not caused by inattentiveness. It was caused by someone drinking and driving. This poor woman was in the wrong place at the wrong time and this jackwad needs to go to jail. As someone who had lost a family member as a victim of drinking and driving, I feel terribly for her family, especiallly during the holidays.

this was not a problem with sidewalks, bike lanes, or anything else. sober drivers can negotiate basic traffic situations. drunk drivers cannot. PPD could not have prevented this with more enforcement.

Lance P.
Lance P.
13 years ago
Reply to  Jeff

While alcohol was a major part of this tragic incident, the built environment was absolutely a factor. You can’t drive this fast when speed bumps are installed, lights every 200 feet, or if the lanes were skinnier. The fact that there is no crosswalk between a bus stop and this apartment complex is a MAJOR problem. The speed limit shouldn’t be neally as high as it is. All city streets should be maxed at 20 mph. The ODOT specified speed on this ‘highway’ is not acceptable. When the city tries to change the speed what does ODOT do? They fight and say no. What gives them the right to say that traffic flow is more important than safety?

Jeff
Jeff
13 years ago
Reply to  Lance P.

that’s naive. Of course you can. I live on a 20mph street with speed bumps, I see/hear people speeding down it nearly every day.

Jeff
Jeff
13 years ago
Reply to  Lance P.

please explain how this would change anything if the driver doesn’t care to follow the rules of the road already in place?

rigormrtis
rigormrtis
13 years ago
Reply to  Jeff

Jeff, why would you expect anyone in portland to suggest personal responsibility as a solution?

jram
jram
13 years ago
Reply to  Jeff

i find it difficult to attribute this only to the fact that the driver was under the influence. my thought is that if the area was better lit, a well marked crosswalk, a useable sidewalk, or if this stretch of road was known as a speed trap the outcome would have been much different. That still doesn’t guarantee that some drunk idiot won’t still act like a drunk idiot, but any one of those things listed would have made it less likely to end the way it did.

Jeff
Jeff
13 years ago
Reply to  jram

really? so you think a better lit sidewalk would have kept this drunk a-hole from speeding and drifting into the bike lane? how? a drivers job is to stay between the yellow and white lines. his impairment and lack of control over his vehicle (due to alcohol) caused this. a sober driver who is paying attention would not have killed this woman. a streetlight has nothing to do with it.

Esther
Esther
13 years ago
Reply to  Jeff

I agree that driving under the influence regardless of infrastructure was a major contributor to this tragedy, but it naive to say that speed does not play a part. Of course people speed down your street with speed bumps – which probably means they are going 30-40. The speed limit posted right after Hamilton is 35, but turns to 45 right where this accident happened, which means he was probably going 50-60mph. The injury caused by a car is in direct, exponential proportion to the speed of a car.

Jeff
Jeff
13 years ago
Reply to  Esther

and I would heavily suspect that his speed was a direct downstream affect of his alcohol abuse.

jram
jram
13 years ago
Reply to  Jeff

I cannot definitely say a streetlight would have changed things, but perhaps if he had seen her even a half second sooner he would have been able to avoid her. it is also difficult to say whether a fully sober driver, operating his vehicle in the same reckless manner, would have been able to avoid this.

i say this because my belief is we need to make all the improvements we can to our system. better enforcement of dui, safer facilities for peds and all modes, and any thing we can. we cannot assume that infrastructure is not a factor just because a driver is under the influence. it seems to be (as most collisions are) a confluence of factors, of which the impairment was only one.

Esther
Esther
13 years ago
Reply to  Jeff

and Jeff- I’m sorry for your loss – I agree that driving under the influence is a huge problem in our society that won’t ever be completely removed without infrastructural changes, but by the way we treat substance use and abuse, including alcohol (and probably not even then). However, there ARE changes that can be made that will mitigate the impact of them, such as speed and changes to infrastructure such as buffer zones between bike lanes and car lanes, etc. This area is VERY dark due to the trees on the west side of the street, and that additional impairment (on top of the driver’s self imposed impairment) could have been a contributing factor as well as speed. Again, I am not mitigating his responsibility, because I believe no one should EVER be driving at a speed where they cannot avoid sudden conflicts, especially in the city.

rigormrtis
rigormrtis
13 years ago
Reply to  Esther

Esther, if the built environment was so bad, you’d be hearing about sober drivers doing this on a very regular basis….so most of the infrastructure in place seems relatively sufficient.

the one thing you cannot plan for is human stupidity. No matter what you build, there will always be accidents.

Esther
Esther
13 years ago
Reply to  rigormrtis

Rigormrtis, over 4000 pedestrians die in the US each year, and most of the drivers who cause it are sober. So, yes, I *do* hear about sober drivers doing it on a “regular basis.”
And like I MEANT to say above- I typed ‘without’ instead of ‘with’ – I agree that driving under the influence is a huge problem in our society that won’t ever be completely removed [with] infrastructural changes. ACCIDENTS WILL ALWAYS HAPPEN. However, there is a great deal that we can do to MITIGATE them.

Jeff
Jeff
13 years ago
Reply to  Esther

esther, this was NOT an accident. This was a conscious decision by a drunk boy.

Jeff
Jeff
13 years ago
Reply to  Esther

no, esther, when you are sober behind a wheel you make different decisions (of fail to make good decisions) compared to when you are drunk. sober drivers know when to slow down, assess a situation, and act accordingly. drunks do not.

Lance P.
Lance P.
13 years ago
Reply to  Jeff

Why would a sober person drive slower when ODOT post the speed ‘Limit’ at an already dangerous speed? The current environment is build and designed to move autos fast. Sober or not, this street is dangerous.

Ryan Good
Ryan Good
13 years ago
Reply to  Jeff

No Jeff, they don’t- sorry. Or at least not all of them. Sober drivers regulary fail to slow down, properly assess situations, and act accordingly all the time. Sorry but Esther is right.

Wayne
Wayne
13 years ago

When I commute to work, whether by bike or by car, my route from Tigard to NW is Durham to Hall to 99/Barbur all the way in, then down Naito all the way to Nicolai, which I then take to St Helens road down to 35th and up to Yeon where my office is located. My trip home is essentially the reverse. I understand it is a dangerous route. I can testify that most people drive Barbur well in excess of the speed limit and seem to think it is an alternative to I-5 without the daily backups.

I fully support any efforts to make Barbur a safer commute for cyclists. My first suggestion would be to lower the speed limit and step up enforcement. There needs to be better lighting in a number of hazardous stretches, like the two bridges coming in to town above I-5 that are pitch black in the early morning. I also think there needs to be an awareness campaign that continually reminds the driving public that main routes like Barbur are also shared with cyclists, pedestrians and TriMet.

All of that being said, it makes me sick to think that another innocent victim lost their life to a careless, irresponsible driver. One life lost, other lives ruined.
Unless significant changes are made to this essential throroughfare into Portland from SW, cyclists and pedestrians will continue to be at significant risk. Now, every time I travel to and from work, I will think of this young woman and another needless tragedy our community has to share.

Paul Souders
Paul Souders
13 years ago
Reply to  Wayne

I hate to comment twice on the same article but I live near Barbur and I agree with Wayne, and then some. I suspect Barbur could easily lose a full auto lane (at the point of this accident there are FIVE) between Terwilliger and Sheridan without impacting traffic flow in the slightest.

Lower speed limits, more signals, curbs, sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes; plus education & enforcement (westside residents know to drive drunk on Barbur b/c it’s sparsely patrolled) …

h
h
13 years ago

unspeakably sad…

Ermal
Ermal
13 years ago

@ Did I Miss It: Sorry. I was being obtuse. I was referring to the unsolved Subaru Impreza vs. Two Cyclists incident from a while back. For the record, we’re on our second Forester, an Impreza variant.

Did I miss it? Again?
Did I miss it? Again?
13 years ago
Reply to  Ermal

No worries. There were comments of a similar nature when that incident occurred.

Blue
Blue
13 years ago

At 8:45 this morning, I saw someone being loaded onto an ambulance at the intersection of N. Willamette Blvd and N. Rose Parks Blvd. There’s a 90-degree bend in the road there, and many cyclists and pedestrians cross there. Not sure if victim was on foot or bike, although there was a bike propped up on the street sign post just 5 ft away. Does anyone know anything about this?

toby
toby
13 years ago
Reply to  Blue

I hope whomever was hauled off is not in too bad of shape. I don’t know anything about what happened but I go through there daily and I’m not surprised. Drivers go too fast through that turn and don’t yield. It also seems like a popular spot for drivers to slow down as if to let you across, then once you start to cross they have a change of heart and continue.

Drivers also tend to have little to no regard for the bike lane. They’ll pass me practically on the line then once passed they cross into the bike lane for the turn. It always amazes me how little skill it takes to stay between the lines and how few people actually do stay between them.

Dougie
Dougie
13 years ago

There was also someone hit by a vehicle this morning about 9:00am on Rosa Parks/ Willamette blvd where the turn is heading east.

Random_rider
Random_rider
13 years ago

The first person I hear that used the word “accident” to describe this is going to get an immediate education on the definition of the term

Owen Walz (Friends of Barbur)

We should be hesitant to draw conclusions about this tragedy, and reference the incident respectfully and cautiously in our own dialogue. Whether this could have been avoided on a better designed street will never be known. However, this seems an apt reminder that this environment is built for speed, and lack of impediment to auto travel. As such it may encourage the kind of behavior that led to this great loss.

I’m hearing a lot of good suggestions here. Let’s keep the dialogue going.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Angela’s family and friends.

Owen Walz (Friends of Barbur)

Regardless of all the factors that contributed to this incident, it seems safe to say that this area desperately needs better pedestrian crossings. A Trimet stop is located across a five lanes of high-speed traffic from a major residential area, and the only support pedestrians receive is an overhead sign and a cut-through in the curb.

I took this photo at the same location a few weeks ago: http://picasaweb.google.com/owenwalz/BarburBlvdSiteVisit1#5544709052562896578

…showing a middle-aged man essentially running for his life to cross after getting off the bus. There’s more than drunk-driving at work here.

spare_wheel
spare_wheel
13 years ago

Drivers routinely exceed 50 mph on barbur. At that speed minor inattention or poor driving skills can result in a fatality.

I routinely ride in excess of 30 mph and yet I am often passed at very high speeds by most vehicles. They buzz me when I am in the bike lane and accelerate dangerously to get around me when I take a lane.

We have a culture where it has become perfectly acceptable to threaten cyclists and pedestrians with agressive and illegal speeding. Instead of enforcing the idaho stop in Ladd’s addition the Portland police should set up automated traffic enforcement systems throughout the metro area. Not only can these systems generate income but they would save lives.

GlowBoy
GlowBoy
13 years ago

Barbur is a simply terrible, awful road. I drive it quite regularly, almost always at or below the speed limit, and the speeds at which some drivers pass me are completely insane. I once got road-raged by a guy in an SUV — at the very spot of this tragedy — for daring to keep to the 35mph speed limit in the right lane, even though the left lane was wide open for him to pass.

I have also been rear-ended while stopped for a pedestrian at the extremely well-marked Lane St crossing of Barbur, just a few blocks north of last night’s incident. 30+mph impact, near-total damage to both cars, months of physical therapy for me. This road is dangerous for EVERYONE who uses it, not just cyclists and pedestrians.

I do admit to biking Barbur fairly often, though generally only in the downhill direction when I can go 30+mph. Going uphill, I take Terwilliger. Drivers can be scary there too, but at least the speeds are barely half of Barbur’s. I once had a cop who is also a regular bike commuter confess to me that he won’t ride Barbur even though it would be his most straighforward route to work.

No doubt alcohol, stupidity and arrogance were the primary factors last night, but Barbur’s all-too-freeway-like design just encourages people to drive fast. Its usefulness as an alternate route when I-5 is jammed also encourages folks to drive like they’re on I-5. I too would support a MAJOR redesign of this road, as well as stricter enforcement. Since this is a state highway, OSP as well as PPB could patrol it once in a while.

GlowBoy
GlowBoy
13 years ago

I should also add that I FREQUENTLY see pedestrians attempting to cross, both within and outside the crosswalk, between the T&C apartments and the southbound bus stop. There is HIGH pedestrian demand here to cross Barbur, and even the well signed and lit crosswalk is inadequate when that section of Barbur makes you feel like you’re entering a freeway.

Alan
Alan
13 years ago
Reply to  GlowBoy

I’m not familiar with that crosswalk but it doesn’t look all that well marked in maps.google images, even zooming in and switching views. It would be cheap and easy to equip that suicide/turn lane with pedestrian safety islands, plural, at side roads and bus stops, fully protected from traffic, between the two directions of cars. The visual friction might slow down drivers, which seems like a benefit to me but which might not to ODOT.

(BTW, those streetviews happened to catch a cop car right there.)

Cite them
Cite them
13 years ago

I’d be very willing to videotape and cite drivers wherever they speed or otherwise break the law. If a dozen or so cyclists rotated this effort and showed for court, this could be an effective way to decrease dangerous behavior. Cell phone use alone would yield hundreds of tickets.

Esther
Esther
13 years ago

Thanks to Owen for the positive dialogue contributions. Ms. Burke and Mr. Pruitt both have friends and family who are no doubt all feeling a great amount of anguish right now.

the "other" steph
the "other" steph
13 years ago
Reply to  Esther

Esther, you took the words right out of my laptop.

Mork
Mork
13 years ago

I have heard from automobile drivers that the only time they watch their speed on Barbur is on Tuesday and Thursday mornings when officers have been known to camp out in the old christmas tree lot a few blocks north of this accident site. I don’t know if this is accurate or not, but it is heartbreaking that the design of the road is such that people drive like maniacs on it with the only consideration being the fear of a ticket on a couple mornings a week. People’s lives are at risk.

I can echo the sentiments of many individuals who have already commented: I avoid Barbur even though it is the quickest route home. Crossing those bridges feels death defying each time I do it. Particularly in the dark, which this time of year seems perpetual.

When I do ride down Barbur, I regularly have to take the traffic lane to avoid pedestrians walking in the bike lane. It’s really time for a change. No one else should die out there.

Mork
Mork
13 years ago
Reply to  Mork

Correction: This was not an accident. I know better.

mabsf
mabsf
13 years ago

I am so very sorry for Ms Burke’s family. It’s very hard to lose somebody around the holidays.
I hope PDoT and the PPB take a serious look at Barbor and come up with a solution.

Lance P.
Lance P.
13 years ago
Reply to  mabsf

ODOT has a solution. Their solution will be similar to 82nd ave, they will simply blame the victim and put a barrier so that pedestrian will not be able to cross the ‘ODOT’ right of way… I mean ‘Public’ right of way.

Tomas Quinones
13 years ago

R. A. G. E.

Tomas Quinones
13 years ago

This guy will never go to jail because it might impact his job duties.

mello yello
mello yello
13 years ago

It begs the question, how well lit was she? Blinkies front and back can’t be seen from the side as well. What was his blood-alcohol level? Driving record?

Perry Hunter
Perry Hunter
13 years ago
Reply to  mello yello

I believe the victim was in the bike lane, and the driver encroached upon her space, not the other way way around.

mello yello
mello yello
13 years ago
Reply to  Perry Hunter

Updates reveal she was in whole or partway into the crosswalk.

mello yello
mello yello
13 years ago

Look and listen before you leap. Prepare to jump out of the way. That is all. You guys turning a negligent drunk homicide into an agenda to “improve” barbur are trivializing her death.

Perry Hunter
Perry Hunter
13 years ago
Reply to  mello yello

At least, we are not blaming the victim.

mello yello
mello yello
13 years ago
Reply to  Perry Hunter

Of course we aren’t. Personal accountability is no one’s responsibility, especially the drunk’s.

Andrew Plambeck
Andrew Plambeck
13 years ago

Okay, coming back into work after a meeting today, I took TriMet from downtown to that intersection and got off to walk down to my office.

In that time, I saw three drivers on cell phones.

was carless
was carless
13 years ago

Reminds me of a friend who, 10 years ago, wrecked his Civic in the highway 26 tunnel while he was doing 105 mph. At least that was on the freeway.

Chris
Chris
13 years ago

Every time I sit here and read these stories at work it makes me totally scared to get on my bike and ride home. Sad story.

Jeff
Jeff
13 years ago

the difference is this Ryan…while some sober drivers make bad decisions….ALL drunk drivers do. reaction times are lower, decision processes change. have you ever had a drink in your life? this had nothing to do with lights, sidewalks, or speed limits. This was alcohol. Diminishing it to something as menial as a street design or intraurban speed limit does this woman and her family great disservice. Failing to acknowledge this boys personal responsibility in this matter does great disservice to this woman and her family. He put his foot on the gas pedal and killed her after knowingly consuming enough alcohol to impair him. Don’t change the situation to fit a personal agenda.

Ryan Good
Ryan Good
13 years ago
Reply to  Jeff

Jeff, I’m not saying that alcohol was not a factor. Obviously it was. No argument there. What I am saying is that the way that area is designed was also a factor. We can’t stop people from driving irresponsibly, we can’t stop people from driving drunk. What we can do is make street design as safe as possible to mitigate the damage when accidents occur. I’m not failing to acknowledge Pruitt’s responsibility- I hope they throw the book at him, I really do. But I’d also like to see us- collectively- taking an approach to street design that prioritizes the safety of those who use it- regardless of mode- rather that the fast flow of motorized traffic (often) at the expense of more vulnerable users. My only agenda, Jeff, is for people to be able to get around their cities safely. Eradicating drunk driving will help with that. So will having safer street design.

Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
13 years ago

Jeff, I’m curious why you keep referring to the 28-year-old driver as a “boy”.

Kth
Kth
13 years ago

So sad.

A few years’ ago, I was looking into applying to a program at the Oregon School of Massage, on Barbur Blvd.

I took the bus there. It dropped me off on the other side of the street. It then took me about eight minutes, and a hell of a lot of gumption, to work up the courage to cross the thing. In places, Barbur Blvd feels like it is as wide as a football pitch, with very, very fast traffic. Crosswalks are few and far between.

I decided against applying to grad school there, because the idea of having to cross that street, often in the dark after work, three times a week just seemed like far too much of a death wish.

So, a business on Barbur lost about $9,000 of my potential spending money, for being located in a car-centric, unsafe location. I hope this sort of feedback will spur other businesses in the area to support more walk and bike friendly infrastructure. Until they do, they simply don’t get my dough.

agoodfirend4
agoodfirend4
13 years ago

Angela Burke
“I got a really good heart, I just can’t catch a break on Tuesday” (posting of hers).

I remember the last time i saw her. it was July 5th about 9am hot and sunny.,as a few friends where helping pack her car to move to Portland, 2,439 mi away.
While strapping the rack to the back of the car. I told her that her tiers need some air, as I admired her bike. Her best friends father hugged his daughter good by.
we where not sure if it was last good byes or not. the air humid and still smelling of smoke and powder from the night of lights and colors. some how none of us cried. maybe it was the heat or the sun drying them out as quick as they cam out.
…. i could go on
Reluctant to part ways she promised to send postcards from all the sights along the way. a few hugs later and she drove off.
She left behind many fiends from all they way across the country. thanks

sam
sam
13 years ago
Reply to  agoodfirend4

so very sorry for your loss… it’s really disturbing to lose someone so young and so suddenly. i guess none of us ever really know if we’re saying our last goodbyes. may you and her many friends keep her alive in your memories and your hearts.

Joe
Joe
13 years ago

If I die remember me ” ghost biker “