A man has suffered what Portland Police are referring to as, “serious life-threatening injuries” after he was involved in a collision with a truck in an industrial area of Northwest Portland.
According to a PPB statement, the collision happened this morning just after 8:00 on NW Nicolai between 27th and 29th. Here’s more from the PPB:
“Based on preliminary information, investigators believe the bicyclist exited a parking lot, traveled into the eastbound travel lane of Northwest Nicolas Street and crashed into a passing truck.”
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The PPB’s Major Crash Team is conducting an investigation and, for reasons unknown at this time, criminalists with the Forensic Evidence Division are also helping with the investigation.
This section of NW Nicolai is on the southern border of the industrial district and is major freight corridor as the only east-west connection between Highway 30 and NW Front/Naito. West of this location Nicolai turns into St. Helens Road. As you can see in the image, there is no shoulder and no bike lane here. The driveway mentioned in the police statement would have emptied out directly into the vehicle lane. 30 mph is the posted speed limit.
Back in 2009 we reported on an opportunity to stripe bike lanes and possibly convert old, paved-over rail lines on Nicolai into protected bikeways. That plan never went anywhere and this key access road continues to lack basic access for bicycle users.
Anyone with information about this crash should contact the Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division at 503-823-2103.
UPDATE, 5/17: The police now say the bicycle rider, a 50-year-old, has died of injuries sustained in this crash. His name has not been released pending notification of kin. He is the first person to die while bicycling on a Portland street in 2018 and the 16th transportation fatality overall.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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