Another serious injury collision happened today on Highway 101.
According to the Oregon State Police, at about 1:25 pm, a 35-year old woman was riding northbound on the shoulder of Hwy 101 five miles south of Cannon Beach near milepost 35 (just south of Hug Point Road) when she was struck by a 78-year old woman driving a Dodge Caravan. The OSP says the woman driving the van “drifted onto the shoulder and struck the woman’s bicycle from behind.” No names have been released yet.
The woman riding the bike was with her husband. He was up the road a bit, then stopped and turned around shortly after the collision because his wife never caught up. The woman was flown to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center for treatment of critical injuries. The van operator and her passenger were not injured.
An OSP statement says, “A decision on enforcement action is pending. Traffic was heavy and there were several witnesses contacted for statements.”
BikePortland reader Dana Troy was driving home from the beach when he came upon the collision. Dana also wrote this note via email: “Someone said the person on the bike swerved out into traffic, but that is not anywhere near official. Overheard a guy say, ‘Those bikers have a death wish riding out here.’ I refrained from yelling at him.” Here’s a photo of the scene taken by Dana (note the shattered windshield in the van):
I’ll update this story as more information becomes available.
UPDATE, 7/8 at 10:00am: The woman riding the bicycle, Christeen Osborn from Hood River, remains in critical condition. The woman who was driving the van is Wanda Cortese from Kennewick, Washington.