Police say a person was killed while using a street in Portland early this morning.
According to a Portland Police Bureau statement the collision happened at about 2:30 am this morning (Friday) at the intersection of NE Couch and 9th.
Here’s the PPB version of events:
“The pedestrian appears to have been walking a bicycle in the roadway when a vehicle travelling westbound on Northeast Couch struck the pedestrian. The driver of the vehicle and witnesses remained at the scene. There were no citations or arrests.”
The name of the person who died has not been released. I’ll update this post when I have more information.
This is the 31st person that has suffered fatal injuries while using Portland streets so far this year.
Advertisement
On Wednesday the Willamette Week reported that reduced driving due to the pandemic was “good for traffic safety” because there were 27 fatalities through August 28th compared to 36 people dead by the same date in 2019.
But four more people have died since that story was published we are now just six deaths below our number from last year at this same date — despite a significant drop in vehicle miles traveled. In the month following initial Covid-19 shutdowns, ODOT data showed a 40% reduction in freeway traffic in Region 1 (Portland metro). Given the drop in VMT our traffic fatality rate is likely higher than last year.
In related news, PPB says two small children were hit on N Fessenden near McCoy Park. “The children were playing nearby when they ran in between two parked vehicles on North Fessenden Street and into traffic,” the police statement reads. One of the children, a 3-year-old is hospitalized with “life threatening” injuries.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
— Get our headlines delivered to your inbox.
— Support this independent community media outlet with a one-time contribution or monthly subscription.