A person riding a bicycle died after being involved in a collision with a MAX light rail train today around 1:30 pm. It happened near Southeast Division and 8th Avenue.
It appears that the bicycle rider was using the street, not the bike path. The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office says the rider was headed north on SE 8th when they went around caution barriers that had been lowered due to the passage of a Union Pacific train.
“The cyclist rode his bike into the opposing southbound lanes of travel, where there are no crossing arms, and was subsequently hit by a MAX train traveling in the direction of Milwaukie as he crossed the railroad tracks,” reads the Sheriff’s statement.
There are four rail tracks at this location — two northern tracks for heavy rail and two southern tracks for light rail. According to local news reports, TriMet Media Relations Manager Tia York said at the scene that, “Maybe [the cyclist] was anticipating or looking out for the Union Pacific train and didn’t stop to think that there could be a MAX train here as well.”
This double-threat posed by two separate sets of tracks has been a concern of TriMet ever since the Orange Line opened. When service first began on the line in 2015, TriMet worked with Portland Police on targeted enforcement of cyclists crossing the tracks. Where the bike path crosses the tracks, TriMet installed special swing gates and caution signs that state, “Look Both Ways.”
With four sets of tracks it’s very possible this bike rider saw one train clear the intersection and believed it was safe to cross — only to be hit by a train they never saw.
Another issue at this location is the frequency and duration of train crossings. These crossings often lead to bicycle riders becoming impatient and going around barriers, or in some cases, hopping over freight trains as they pass. The issue is so acute that local policymakers have sought federal grants to study it and find a solution. With so much attention on the crossing delays and related safety issues, this fatality is likely to spur even more conversations about how to rebuild these crossings to make them more compatible with urban traffic.
This is the first person to die while bicycling and 14th fatal traffic crash overall in Portland so far this year.
There is still more to learn about this crash. Stay tuned for more coverage. If you saw what happened and have anything to share, please get in touch.
UPDATE: A BikePortland reader rolled past the scene right after it happened and shared this account:
I rode past as the 2nd fire rescue was arriving on-scene.
The MAX train was headed east toward Gresham and was in the furthest South TriMet line of the 4 tracks.
There was a white ball-cap (and some misc other debris) in the northbound car lane on SE 8th Ave. and the cyclist was dragged east from the crossing before the MAX train stopped with the cyclist on the south side of the train outside the rail pinned under one of the MAX cars.
Even if there had been a Union Pacific freight train, that would have not obscured the cyclist view of the MAX train. Perhaps there was an approaching UP train that they were racing to beat and had tunnel vision on the UP locomotive. Or they were just trying to beat the MAX train at the very last second, going north in the southbound lane to avoid the crossing arm.
UPDATE, 6/19 at 3:50 pm: KOIN is reporting (via the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office) that the person who died in this collision was 80-year-old Michael O’Callaghan. O’Callaghan, who liked to be called “Mayor Mike,” ran for Portland Mayor in the last election and was a regular at Bike Happy Hour where he spoke several times on open mic about his plans to help the homelessness crisis. This is such sad news. Mike was a really bright and warm guy. Check out his campaign website to learn more about him.
