Alistair Corkett at a bike safety meeting
in City Hall three weeks after losing his leg in
a traffic collision.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s office announced today that they will not pursue criminal charges in the case of Alistair Corkett, the man whose leg was severed in a traffic collision at SE 26th and Powell back in May.

In a seven-page memo, Senior Deputy District Attorney Glen Banfield explains that the man driving the 1988 Dodge Pickup that collided with Corkett might have been careless or even negligent, but his actions do not rise to the legal threshold necessary for a finding of criminal negligence.

According to the DA’s office and the Portland Police Bureau’s investigation, here are some facts in the case:
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From the scene a few minutes ago.
(Photo by @long_ter on Twitter)

There has been another collision involving a bicycle rider in Portland. And this time it was at the same intersection where Alistair Corkett lost his leg just a few weeks ago.[Read more…]

(Photo J. Maus/BikePortland)

Rob Sadowsky, the executive director of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance has issued a public statement about the serious injury collision that happened in southeast Portland on Sunday.
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OBRA Executive Director Kenji Sugahara and Alistair Corkett.
(Photo courtesy Kenji Sugahara)

It’s been only three days since Alistair Corkett experienced a life-changing event. He was cycling on Southeast 26th Ave when he was involved in a collision that resulted in the loss of his leg. A budding bike racer, Corkett now faces a long road to recovery and a mountain of medical bills.
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On the mayor’s radar.

A few updates to our top story:

— The man who was driving the truck that collided with Alistair Corkett on Sunday has two prior convictions for Careless Driving. According to our legal sources, 42-year-old Barry Allen was charged with Careless Driving in November 2013 and Careless Driving and Unsafe Operation of a Vehicle in May 2009. Allen was convicted on both charges after failing to appear. He has two other prior run-ins with the law, including convictions in 1998 for driving without insurance and failure to renew his automobile registration.

Allen has not been cited for a traffic violation. As per standard procedure, the Portland Police Bureau will complete their investigation than hand the case over to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office. After the DA makes a decision about criminal charges, the police would then decide whether or not to issue a citation.
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Screen grab from GoFundMe.com.

Bryant Howard, the cycling coach of the victim in Sunday’s collision has started a fundraising campaign to help offset medical expenses. Alistair Corkett lost his leg when he was involved in a collision with a man driving a truck on SE 26th Avenue at Powell.

In the last hour the “Put Alistair back on his bike” campaign has already raised nearly $2,000 and the goal is set at $50,000.

Howard’s message posted at GoFundMe.com says Corkett is currently in the intensive care unit at OHSU where he’s recovering from his first round of surgeries. “As you can imagine,” it says, “he’s in a great deal of pain and is facing a lot of uncertainty about the road ahead.”

Here’s more from the message:

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Dan Kaufman with one of his sons in 2009.
(Photo:J.Maus/BikePortland)

Saying that traffic injuries like the ones that are common on Powell Boulevard “inexcusable and unnecessary” outside the doors of Cleveland High School, the father of two Cleveland students is organizing a protest of the speed-oriented urban highway during Monday’s rush hour.

A collision Sunday involving a pickup truck and a bicycle severed a young man’s leg. Police said the truck had been northbound on 26th and turned left onto Powell in front of two people heading southbound on bicycles.

Dan Kaufman described Monday’s event as a “super-legal slow-down,” in which people deliberately move slowly on a street in order to call attention to the fact that high speeds, and roads designed to encourage them, are inappropriate in an urban context.

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The southbound view at 26th and Powell. Police said preliminary information indicated that the man was biking south when a northbound truck turned left in front of him.
(Image: Google Street View)

A collision involving a pickup truck and a bicycle critically injured a man biking southbound on 26th Avenue just before 10 a.m. Sunday morning.

Police said the injured man’s leg was severed after the northbound truck turned left onto Powell in front of him. Alistair Corkett, 22, was “transported to a Portland hospital with life-threatening injuries” but is expected to survive.

Kenji Sugahara, executive director of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, said in an email Sunday afternoon that Corkett was “a development rider for one of our teams in PDX.”

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