According to a new report from Multnomah County, traffic-related fatalities made up the second largest number of unintentional deaths among homeless residents in our area. At least 315 people died while homeless in 2022, a record high since the data was first collected in 2011. Among those, 14 people died as a result of traffic collisions — the second highest number among all categories of unintentional deaths.
These stats come from Multnomah County’s Domicile Unknown report released in collaboration with nonprofit advocacy group Street Roots on Wednesday.
In 2020 and 2021, a separate Multnomah County report found that people experiencing homelessness accounted for 24% of all traffic deaths. The problem hit a peak in 2021 when 19 of the 27 pedestrian fatalities in Portland befell people who lived outside. This trend mirrors national numbers that show an increase in pedestrian fatalities among homeless people every year for the past five years.
while walking on Highway 99 East, near Milepost
20 in Canby
hit-and-run driver on the 4600 block of S.E.
Powell Boulevard late on April 4, 2022.
by the driver of an SUV while walking on the
Morrison Bridge near the Interstate 5 ramp.
“The issue may seem complex, but at the core, it’s quite simple: speed, impairment and distraction contribute to over 90% of vehicle crashes in the U.S… This public health epidemic is preventable but only with timely attention and action from the government at every level,” said The Street Trust Executive Director Sarah Iannarone in a county statement.
The problem has gotten so bad that the Joint Office of Homeless Services, a collab between Multnomah County and the City of Portland, has begun handing out reflective gear as part of outreach services. “We’ve got to make sure people are safer and more visible when they’re getting from here to there… especially at night when most of these fatalities occur,” said County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson.
The new report features stories of some of the people who died on our streets. 54-year-old John Ellstrom died when he was struck by the driver of an SUV while walking on the Morrison Bridge near the Interstate 5 ramp on Mother’s Day. And 47-year-old Angela Boyd was killed by a hit-and-run driver as she crossed SE Powell Boulevard on April 4th. The driver of the late-model Subaru that hit her is still on the loose.
While our entire population faces the prospect of increasing traffic fatalities, people experiencing homelessness are at much higher risk. The report found that they are 45 times more likely to die of a transportation-related death than the overall population — a greater disparity than any other cause including drug overdoses and homicide.
One reason for this disproportionate impact is that many encampments are adjacent to high-speed roads. Early last year, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler tried to combat this situation by ordering a ban on camping next to roads listed on the city’s high crash network.
But bans and the sweeps that accompany them, are not a proven remedy. A group of Portland State University students researching the issue found that forcing people to relocate to areas with safer traffic patters often just results in them having to travel further to reach services and destinations — thus exposing them to more car traffic dangers in the process. To get at the root cause of the problem, they recommend building safer streets and improving the quality and accessibility of shelters.
— Read the 2022 Domicile Unknown report here.