A man riding a bicycle was killed by a driver near the intersection of Northeast Glisan and 128th this morning. The Portland Police Bureau say it happened around 2:37 am. By the time officers arrived they found the bicycle rider dead and the driver had fled the scene.
This is the third fatal collision involving a bicycle rider so far this year.
While we don’t know many details about what happened yet, this location is notable for a few reasons. This section of NE Glisan east of I-205 was significantly reconfigured by the Portland Bureau of Transportation in 2019. Once referred to as a “raceway” in a PBOT slide presentation, the street was converted from a classic east Portland stroad into a more humane design with protected bike lanes, enhanced crossings, and other safety-related features.
Glisan at 128th is also where the 130s neighborhood greenway crossing from north to south. It’s an off-set intersection, so PBOT built a two-way protected bike lane and median island crossing in order to help get bicycle riders safely across the intersection. Another reason PBOT paid special attention to this crossing is because it’s right outside Menlo Park Elementary School.
PPB is still investigating the crash and said in a statement his morning the incident could impact the morning drop-off.
According to our Fatality Tracker, this is the 47th fatal traffic collision on Portland streets so far this year, down from 55 at this point last year.
If you have more information about what happened, please let the police know so they can track down whoever did this. If you saw or heard anything, please email crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov attention Traffic Investigations Unit and reference case number 24-269766.
UPDATE, 10:08 am: Another bicycle rider has been killed in a traffic crash this morning. PPB says it happened around 9:00 am at NE 105th and NE Marx.
UPDATE, 10/22: Video from the scene by KPTV (Fox 12) shows that the bicycle rider and driver were headed west on NE Glisan, just before coming to the overpass outside the school. The rider was in the general travel lane and the driver hit him from behind at a high rate of speed.
