(Photo © J. Maus)
On April 7th, the Portland Police Bureau cited a man for Hit and Run in a dooring incident that occurred back in January.
According to the PPB, on January 23rd a man opened his car door after parking on N. Williams Avenue, just as a 34-year old woman happened to be biking by. The door knocked her off her bike and sent her to the pavement. The woman wasn’t seriously hurt but did have some bumps and bruises and her bicycle was damaged.
“We do take these cases very seriously.”
— Sgt. Todd Davis, Portland Police Bureau
The man driving the car asked if she was O.K, but then drove off without leaving any contact information about himself or his insurance. A police officer took a hit-and-run report and then forwarded it to the Traffic Division for follow-up.
Due to a case backlog, it took several months for officers to address this incident. Once they did, the driver was contacted (in Vancouver WA) and cited for violation of ORS 811.700, “Failure to perform duties of driver when property is damaged,” a class A misdemeanor.
Traffic Division Sergeant Todd Davis handles all the hit-and-run cases that come through the PPB. When I contacted him about this case, he said it’s an example of how “We do take these cases very seriously.” “As a rule,” he continued, “I assign just about every hit and run case that comes in when the victim is a pedestrian or a bicyclist, even when there is very little suspect info to work with.”
Hit-and-runs and dooring are a constant source of frustration for many. It’s good to hear that, at least in this case, the PPB followed up and held someone accountable.
— This door-zone bike lane is one of many reasons it’s vital that we improve bicycling conditions on Williams Avenue. Please attend the open house this Saturday to let PBOT know you support better biking on this crucial, two-wheeled thoroughfare.