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 69-year-old 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) 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.
Thanks for reading.
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Thanks for posting about the GoFundMe, I wouldn’t have heard about it otherwise
My sincere condolences to Mike Sloan’s family and loved ones. No family should have to crowd fund basic answers about how someone they love died.
It is also worth saying how broken it is that GoFundMe is the default. It is a for profit company, and even with “no platform fee,” it typically takes about 2.9 percent plus 30 cents per donation in processing fees, which adds up quickly. Families in crisis should not be forced to subsidize a venture backed company just to seek clarity and closure.
We need a nonprofit, public interest alternative that does not skim money off tragedy. Is anyone out there willing to help start one?
(who was wearing a helmet, but still died from head injuries) – how do you know he died of head injuries when autopsy wasn’t completed? Just curious. Could it have been a heart attack or something like that?
Yes, I shouldn’t have typed that. I’ll edit that. Thanks for catching it.
I can’t find any mention of how old Mike was, but I hope an autopsy can rule out (or rule in) cardiac arrest or a similar health event. I say this b/c my friend’s father, who was in his late 60s, fell off his bike and sustained serious injuries and was in cardiac arrest when EMTs arrived to take over from cyclists who were performing CPR. At first everyone thought that the crash and injuries led to cardiac arrest, but later it became clear that cardiac arrest had caused the crash. So it’s really tough to tell which came first, since – as you say – the victim isn’t around to tell you what happened.
Mike was the same age as me, 69 yrs and about 8 months.
I think a cleat issue / pedal contact is a plausible theory.
A couple of weeks ago, I took off on my bike to make a quick errand with slip-on birks (not recommended). I started cranking hard to pick-up speed and had one of my sandals slip off my foot. I totally thought I was going to bite it. I lost balanced and started wobbling out of control for a bit but fortunately was able recover probably because of the momentum I had already achieved.
The bystander description in this article reminded me of my near mishap.
I think we should hold off on speculation and false claims. First the pothole was blamed, that seems incorrect, then you said there was a head injury, says who? Then the pedal theory… yeah maybe?? Who knows. Reporting these ideas just adds speculation and I think it’s best to wait to report until you have some actual facts.
There was definitely a head injury Tony. That is a fact that I’ve verified with someone who was on the scene that night and with the family who informed me of what they were told by the medical examiner. The question was whether or not something else happened (like a medical event of some kind) prior to the fall. And I think some speculating is OK in this case because no one is 100% certain about what happened and we are seeking clarity and closure.
I am not trained in medicine/healthcare, so I am not offering that kind of expertise, but I wonder whether “head injury” might be the “medical event” that caused rather than merely resulted from the crash. If any of us experiences an aneurysm, a seizure, or other “brain issue” while riding, we would likely lose control and crash. (Same would be true for a motorist experiencing a “brain issue,” with even more serious consequences.) This is one more reason an autopsy might give insight into what happened.
Unfortunately, of course, no amount of resolution about what happened can bring Mike back. Continued condolences to all who loved him!
The medical examiner told us it was blunt force trauma from head and neck injuries. We are having an autopsy done to check further.
My mom asked for one right away but they said no and did a limited exam.
The state ME office wouldn’t do one as they didn’t deem it was necessary so we are doing private one.
No private place in state of Oregon, so we are going to Seattle, WA area to do it
We have a go fund me to help pay for it.
Thank you.
thank you for sharing this and huge huge condolences for your loss.
The pothole stayed at the scene and was remorseful so no accident investigators were sent.
(Talking generally, not in regard to this specific case) that’s a bit disturbing that non-motor vehicle-crash deaths aren’t considered traffic-related fatalities by the PPB or NTSA.
So, a bike rider crashes and dies to to a pothole or other infrastructure danger–no traffic-related fatality. But the same thing happens to a driver?–traffic-related fatality.
What’s the logic behind that?
And what are the ramifications? I can see that definition potentially influencing decisions about infrastructure in ways that discount dangers to bicycle riders. For instance, a pothole, protruding guardrail, etc. that causes the death of a driver would be identified as one causing a traffic-related fatality if it caused a driver’s death–but not if it caused a cyclist’s death–so might be more likely to be flagged for attention.
Yes, I would love to learn more about the ramifications of such a designation.
qqq,
Yes this is something that has been a thorn in my side for many years. It feels discriminatory on its face — as if deaths only matter when a motor vehicle is involved. Same goes for DMV crash reports – both the report itself and the minimum property damage threshold to file one – are only relevant if a motor vehicle is involved. This definitely contributes to under-reporting and feels like a slap in the face for non-drivers. But keep in mind that just because some of these deaths don’t count as “traffic-related fatalities,” they are usually still counted and analyzed by road authorities. For instance, PBOT follows the same NHTSA reporting guidelines, but they still monitor each crash regardless (or so they tell me). And I’m sure TriMet does their own investigations when someone is killed by their system.
Overall, I think it’s worth diving more deeply into and discussing the ramifications and finding out whether this is something advocates should consider changing. I’m sure Streetsblog or someone else has delved into this, but I’ll add it to my list to look into.
Thanks for the comment.
my brother’s friend in texas was biking away from a gathering and died after traveling only a few yards when he crashed at very low speed and struck his head on the pavement. it was simply an unfortunate accident.
The most plausible explanation is a devastating medical issue happened. Not the pedal theory, not the previous pothole theory. I don’t see this mentioned in the article.
Jack. I agree that medical event is very plausible. Is that not mentioned in the story? Shoot. I thought I mentioned that. I’ll add it ASAP.
Jonathan,
The family can pay to have an autopsy done.
Are you their accountant or something?
We are paying for one. But there are no private ones in the state of Oregon, so we have to go to the Seattle, WA area to have it done.
We are doing a gofund me to raise funds for it. Jonathan listed it at the end of the article.
You left out the first half of the sentence you quoted, which is important. The whole sentence:
So you’re correct that the family could pay for an autopsy themselves (which I see from a subsequent comment that they are). But based on the rest of the sentence it looks like the State may have done one for them if it had been a vehicle crash, since that would have been a “traffic-related fatality” but this bicycle death is not, based on the definition the State uses.
I couldn’t tell from the sentence if the State would have done an autopsy if it had been a solo vehicle crash or not. But if the trigger for a State autopsy is a “traffic-related fatality” then it seems unfair and illogical that the family has to pay for an autopsy themselves because their family member was riding a bike instead of driving a car.
This is very sad news. Starting in 2002, If I wasn’t racing at PIR or Alpenrose, I would go on the group rides from Wilshire park on Tuesday and Thursday evening. Every time I showed up on these rides, Mike was there. Doing these rides for 30,40?, 50?? years, he was in effect a ride leader for these very fast and enjoyable often large group rides. Always friendly, helpful and encouraging, especially if anyone new showed up to ride.
He was beyond a “very experienced and veteran rider” and I would bet he’s been on all the bike routes in NE/SE Portland _hundreds_ of times (not just dozens). To say he was a strong rider is an understatement. And he was consistently strong and fit through the year and over the years. (Yes, not exaggerating, at the time I was winning an occasional OBRA race or placing in the top 5, but Mike was still stronger!)
By 2013 I had moved to the westside, but last summer I did a Wilshire Park Tues ride, and as the pace picked up and my heartrate spiked, Mike came flying by me with words of encouragement “Come-on John- jump on…” I am sure there are hundreds of others who’ve had similar friendly interactions with Mike over the decades. He was a first-class human.
It certainly seems odd that this event does not appear to have ever been covered by the Oregonian.
In lieu of decent newspaper/media coverage, I’m also wondering if we can get a more thorough witness account, including who and what were they doing /where were they at the time, and what did they do when they saw the accident. Do we know if any car drivers saw anything? And how long was it before any medical attention was given, by bystanders or professionals? …
Though it shouldn’t have had to be crowdsourced, I’m happy to see the funds were met for the autopsy. I really hope his family gets something that helps make it make sense.
I live near here. Does this tragic event warrant a ghost bike?