Family searches for answers in mysterious death of SE Portland cyclist

One truism about investigating fatal bicycle crashes is that we often never know what happened because one of the best witnesses is no longer around to share their story. In the case of Mike Sloan, the man who died on Southeast Division Street around 8:30 pm on January 5th, it remains unclear what precipitated his fatal crash.

The two main assumptions — made by myself, the Portland Police Bureau, and others immediately following his crash — were incorrect. Sloan was not riding eastbound on SE Division and he very likely did not lose control of his bicycle due to a large pothole located just west of the intersection of Division and SE 52nd.

A witness who’s shared their account with BikePortland and the PPB has confirmed that Sloan (who was wearing a helmet, but still died from head injuries) was stopped at the southbound traffic signal on SE 52nd prior to his crash. That witness told me via email: “Sloan began riding southbound when the signal changed and lost control about halfway across the intersection.” The witness also recalls seeing Sloan “swerve toward the pothole.”

If Sloan lost control in the intersection, there’s no way he hit the pothole initially, because it’s located several yards outside the intersection. It’s also important to note that this witness claims Sloan, “bobbled a bit as he began to accelerate” and that he was rolling “quite slowly” before being seen flipping over his handlebars.

A few other factors I’ve considered while trying to understand Sloan’s final minutes: he was riding with cleats and clipless pedals, the cleat on his right shoe was broken, his body came to rest about one foot east of a large pothole, and this was a route (north and south on 52nd) he’d ridden dozens of times (which I learned from viewing his Ride With GPS account where he logged several rides per week).

Given that Sloan was a very experienced and veteran rider, it’s hard to fathom what could cause him to lose control of his bicycle. What I think is most plausible is that he had trouble clipping in to his pedal, reached down to mess with his cleat (which was broken, likely before this crash), lost his balance, and ended up veering to the right where he crashed near the pothole. It’s hard to say exactly what transpired without video solid video footage.

I’ve heard nothing to make me think there was another road user involved. That matters because solo fatal crashes don’t get the same type of resources from the PPB as multi-vehicle/multi-person fatals. You’ll note there was never a standard police statement about Sloan’s crash. That’s because the PPB (and Portland Bureau of Transportation, who follow the same reporting protocols) don’t consider this a “traffic-related fatality” as per National Highway Traffic Safety Administration guidelines (which don’t count intentional acts (homicides, suicides), medical events, non-motor vehicle crashes (like this one or a MAX/train collision), crashes on private property, or deaths occurring more than 30 days after the crash).

Also because this was a solo crash, the PPB Major Crash Team was not sent to the scene. If not for BikePortland’s coverage and the public/media interest it generated, there would have only been a very cursory investigation. Thankfully, now the PPB has assigned a crash investigator to take a closer look. That investigator has been in contact with Sloan’s family, witnesses, and I’ve traded notes with him as well.

It will be interesting to see what the PPB concludes about the cause of Sloan’s death. Sloan’s family is skeptical of the pothole explanation and feels the official story about what happened (that the pothole caused his crash) doesn’t make sense. And since this was a solo crash and is not considered a traffic-related fatality, the State Medical Examiner declined to do an autopsy. That leaves family members without a full understanding of what might have happened.

“The initial explanation we were given was that Mike’s accident was caused by a pothole in the road; however, the evidence we’ve seen does not align with that account, and our family is seeking clarity,” writes Sloan’s son-in-law Joshua Pattillo in a GoFundMe post where the family is trying to raise $8,000 to pay for a full autopsy.

Sloan was dearly loved by many people in our community and was clearly a shining light on a bicycle. He and his family deserve as much clarity and closure as possible. Please consider helping the family pay for costs related to his death by donating at the GoFundMe.