Bike-cam footage nabbed this crazy driver seconds before impact. Watch the video below.

Portland Police are looking for a tan SUV after its driver was involved with a high-speed hit-and-run crash last month.

It happened about 2:30 pm on January 27th in the eastbound lanes of the Hawthorne Bridge just east of the Willamette River near the TriMet bus stop on the viaduct. Amazingly, so far the biggest lead the police have in the case is footage from a handlebar-mounted camera taken by a person who happened to be cycling nearby.

As you can see in the video below, the driver was going very fast and was unable to control his/her vehicle. They ran into two other vehicles, causing one to roll, which, according to police, “nearly struck a person riding a bicycle.” Luckly there were no injuries. The driver didn’t stop and is still on the loose. [Read more…]

Map of incident created by laywer Charley Gee.

Portland-based lawyer and bicycle law specialist Charley Gee needs our help.

Gee represents a man who was struck by someone driving a car as he biked in the bike lane on North Interstate Avenue on August 15th. The person driving the car didn’t render aid or wait around for help to arrive at the scene. The victim needs information about the suspect to help his case.

Here’s more about the incident from Gee:

“After being struck and knocked to the ground, the car driver stopped, rolled down his window and laughed at the injured man before leaving the scene. [Read more…]

A case from Corvallis should send a shiver down the spine of anyone who uses our roads.

As reported today by the Gazette Times, the Linn County District Attorney’s Office has decided to not file charges against the driver who hit and killed 34-year-old Shiloh Sundstrom while he was walking on the side of a road east of Corvallis on the night of November 22nd. The auto user admitted to drinking and looking down at his phone prior to the crash. Despite these facts, the Deputy DA Alex Olenick said the evidence wasn’t enough to prove the driver acted with criminal negligence.

We’ve covered this legal situation numerous times and are aware of the existing limitations in Oregon law around traffic crashes. The threshold to prove intentional and reckless behavior by the driver of a car in situations like this is very high and often — even when it’s clear that a person’s behavior was dangerous and led to the crash — DA’s feel they must decline to prosecute.

What makes this case stand out however, is the statement Olenick made in his report. Here’s the relevant excerpt from Olenick’s memo (taken from Gazette Times with my emphasis):
[Read more…]

Fundraising has begun for Erik Craven.

It happened at SE 59th and Powell this past Sunday night at around 11:30 pm. 45-year-old southeast Portland resident Erik Craven was biking home from work when he was hit by a car. The person driving did not stop and has still not been found.

The driver left Erik lying on the street with severe injuries. With no one around to help and with critical injuries to his face, he dialed 911 himself. “He couldn’t even see his phone through the blood,” his friend Tanyastar Kim shared with us via email today. [Read more…]

Aleah Greene receiving treatment at the scene last night.
(Photo: Brad Biddle)

Portlander Aleah Greene is recovering from her injuries after she was involved in a collision yesterday evening.

At around 6:00 last night Greene was riding her bike at Northeast 13th and Wygant whe she was struck by a man driving a Dodge Caravan. Here’s how Greene remembers it:

“It all happened pretty quick. I was riding down 13th (helmet and lights on), when I got to the intersection of Wygant and started passing through I noticed the white van heading towards me was not stopping and was turning left into/in front of me. I don’t remember seeing a signal. We both had the right of way, no stop signs were run. He just didn’t see me is what he said.
[Read more…]

Screengrab from Hannah Davison’s GoFundMe page.

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Screenshot of tweet by @BluTarp.

Portland Police are investigating a hit-and-run case after a woman was struck while bicycling on North Skidmore last night.
[Read more…]

Paths are for slow riding.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Reader Spencer B (not that Spencer B) shared a disturbing story with us earlier this month. A man riding a bike in Waterfront Park just south of the Steel Bridge, rode his bicycle into another person and just kept on going.

Here’s what happened, via an email from Spencer:

This morning while riding to work I witnessed an accident where the cyclist hit and knocked over a pedestrian and just kept going. I stopped to check on her. She was a 70ish woman who was probably from out of town and doesn’t know the dangers of the Esplanade in the morning.
[Read more…]

Mike Cooley, shown here ready to head out on his
daily bike commute before his 2013 collision.
(Photos courtesy Lisa Cooley)

A man whose legs were paralyzed in an unsolved 2013 hit-and-run on Interstate Avenue has sued the city, state and regional transit agency for $21 million.

Mike Cooley’s wife Lori, who is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, told us in a May interview that she’s motivated in part by the lack of changes to Interstate Avenue’s bike lanes despite years of serious collisions on the street.

“Something has to be done to make that road safer or just shut it down for bikes,” Lori Cooley said. “There’s just too many injuries there.”

[Read more…]

R.I.P. little guy.

UPDATE: The man who ran over the duck has left a comment explaining his side of the story.

On the many paved, off-street trails that wind through the subdivisions of Washington County, there are some path users who are truly vulnerable. On Saturday we learned about a disturbing incident that involved one such user, a mallard duck, that tried to cross the path adjacent to Bethany Lake (near NW 185th and West Union).

According to a tipster named Steve C., just before noon a man wearing a red and white lycra jersey came rolling down the path near the lake, struck the duck and left it dead, then failed to stop.

Steve said several people pleaded with the man to stop and report the incident to the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District; but to no avail.
[Read more…]