A sight you hope to never see.
(Photo: Josh Ross)

The Going Neighborhood Greenway is one of the busiest and arguably best example of a family-friendly cycling street we have in Portland. That’s why what happened to Josh Ross and his six-year-old son on Saturday matters.
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View looking east on NW Nicolai between 27th and 29th.

A man has suffered what Portland Police are referring to as, “serious life-threatening injuries” after he was involved in a collision with a truck in an industrial area of Northwest Portland.
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A man has been arrested and charged with four crimes in relation to a crash on April 6th that injured a bicycle rider.

The Portland Police Bureau just announced they’ve arrested 30-year-old Abduraham S. Abubaker at his home (near SE Ramona and 122nd) for his role in a crash that took place on SE Gladstone at Cora just east of 34th last week. This section of Gladstone has two general vehicle lanes, unprotected bike lanes and a curbside lane.

Police say witnesses who saw the crash said a man driving a blue Dodge Stratus turned south onto Cora from eastbound Gladstone “and collided with the bicyclist.” The driver then fled and left the injured bike rider in the roadway. The victim was helped by people who had gathered nearby. They contacted help, remained at the scene, and gave information to officers.
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Looking north on SE 17th at Rhine.

We’ve received preliminary details about a collision this afternoon between a bicycle rider and a MAX operator.
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A woman checks over her shoulder before merging across the on-ramp where Greeley funnels into I-5.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

A person riding a bike on North Greeley was struck by a person driving a car today around 1:45 pm. The collision happened — surprise, surprise! — where the unprotected bike lane crosses over a busy, high-speed freeway onramp to I-5 where people often drive well over 50 mph.

It’s a collision that should have never happened. A Portland Bureau of Transportation project to create a two-way, physically protected bike lane on the other side of Greeley was supposed to be build this past August but has been delayed due to contracting issues until spring.

After hearing about the collision on social media, we followed up with the Portland Police Bureau to confirm the details.

Public Information Officer Sgt. Chris Burley said the bicycle rider was transported to the hospital with, “What are believed to be serious but non-life-threatening injuries.” Sgt. Burley added that the investigation into what caused the collision is still underway, “But initial information provided by the investigating traffic officer suggested the driver would be cited for careless driving as well as at least one other charge.”
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View of police flares from crash investigation at SE 148th and Division.
(Photo: Sarah Iannarone)

One person was killed and another person sustained life-threatening injuries in two separate crashes this weekend. Both of them happened about one mile apart in southeast Portland.

On Saturday evening around 5:40, Portland police responded to a collision near the intersection of SE 148th and Division. They discovered that a bicycle rider had been hit by a driver and was lying on the ground. “Based on preliminary information,” read their statement, “officers believe the motorist and bicyclist were both traveling south on Southeast 148th Avenue when the bicyclist was struck by the vehicle.”

The man was believed to have “serious life threatening injuries.”

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SE Stark near 212th.

A 23-year-old Portland resident has been arrested due to his role in the death of a bicycle rider on Sunday evening.

Gresham Police have charged Kurtis Linn with DUII, Reckless Driving and Manslaughter in the 2nd degree. According to The Oregonian, Linn was driving his Chevy Blazer at nearly twice the speed limit and after consuming two drinks at a local bar prior to the collision.

Linn says he was racing another auto user and lost control of his car, then slammed into another car before he struck and killed Albert Sawdon who was bicycling in the bike lane.
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Robert Esparza.
(Photo via Legacy.com)

The family of Robert Esparza will be on the Gresham-Fairview Trail late afternoon Sunday to call attention to bicycling awareness, organ donation and Esparza’s life.

Esparza, 21, was hit by a Corvette on Sept. 24 of last year while biking through the marked crosswalk near 200th and Glisan at 3:30 a.m. The alleged driver was Alex Jacoby. Esparza, a 2013 Gresham high school graduate, had been on the way to his shift as a welder for medical equipment maker CAPSA Solutions.

Esparza’s sister Janelle Ramirez said in an interview Thursday that she and her family will set up a table, bottled water, cookies and pictures of her brother from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Facebook event here.) She expected other family members, friends and supporters to be there or stop by too, though no particular speech or moment is planned.

“I kind of just thought we could talk to people as they approach if they’re interested,” Ramirez said. “I just want a way to recognize him.”

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View looking west from Tillamook approaching Vancouver.

A serious injury collision Tuesday evening has resulted in a citation for the bicycle rider. Police say the rider was under the influence of alcohol when the collision occurred.

It happened around 6:15 pm on North Vancouver and Tillamook. We first saw it reported via Twitter and then got an email from a reader who lives and rides nearby.

“I was getting off the bus when it happened,” the reader shared with us. “The guy was not moving at all although he seemed to be alive… I heard the driver saying she didn’t see him. It’s possible the bus blocked his view of traffic and he tried to dart across Vancouver.”

Tillamook is an east-west neighborhood greenway that is a busy feeder route onto Vancouver — especially during peak commute hours. There is no traffic signal at the intersection. Users of Tillamook have a stop sign and people going south on Vancouver (a one-way street) have the right-of-way. Vancouver also has yellow “Bikes XING” caution signs on both sides of the street at this location.
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On July 1st, David Yarber was riding his three-wheeled bicycle across Southeast Foster Road at 60th when he was hit by an auto user. The person who struck him with their car didn’t stop and was later arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence and Reckless Endangerment.

Now friends of Yarber have turned to GoFundMe to help raise money for his recovery.

Yarber’s recovery is even more complicated because he was born with cerebral palsy. Friends of his who reached out to BikePortland to share word of his fundraising campaign said that he was still unable to walk by himself two weeks after the collision. He’ll require a live-in physical therapist in order to regain his ability to walk and the independence that comes with it.

According to his GoFundMe page Yarber’s medical bills have already exceeded the Medicaid allowance and the government won’t pay for a live-in therapist. He has no immediate family to take care of him.
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