Portland Police have just announced that a man involved in a traffic collision on May 4th has died of his injuries. Their statement says Shane Johnson was a “bicyclist” who was operating an “electric motorcycle”. That is incorrect. A photo from the scene (below) clearly shows that Johnson was operating an electric motorcycle.
Here’s the PPB statement:
On May 4, 2022, at 11:17 a.m. East Precinct officers responded to the area of Southeast Powell Blvd/Southeast 50th Ave on a report of a bicyclist struck by a vehicle. Upon arrival, they located the man, later identified as 43-year-old Shane Johnson, severely injured. Johnson had been riding an electric bicycle when he was struck by a vehicle. Medical arrived to assist and transported Johnson to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. Johnson died on Saturday, May 7, 2022.
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Due to the severity of Johnson’s injuries, the Major Crash Team was activated and responded to the scene. The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene and was cooperative. MCT investigators learned from witnesses and nearby videos that Johnson entered the roadway unexpectedly for an unknown reason and believe the driver had no time to adjust their course of travel.
As you can see in the map image, 50th and Powell is a intersection of a major arterial (SE Foster) and a state highway (Powell is Highway 26). This intersection has a history of serious injury and fatal collisions. Just two weeks ago a person trying to walk across SE 47th at Powell was killed when a driver hit them and then left the scene.
This is the 21st traffic fatality in Portland so far this year, 10 fewer than we had last year at this same date.
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UPDATE: Based on a photo of the crash scene below, the person who died was not on a traditional electric bicycle. He was riding an e-dirt bike with no pedals, powered by a throttle and capable of tops speeds ranging from 31 to 45 mph. The vehicle does not meet the legal definition of a bicycle in Oregon.
CW: Image of crash scene below
UPDATE, 5:41 pm: A reader shared a photo of the crash scene on Twitter May 4th.
