Police investigating car in north Portland hit-and-run
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…]
hit and run
Hit-and-run in Waterfront Park shows disturbing lack of conscience
Paths are for slow riding.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)
(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…]
In $21 million lawsuit, hit-and-run victim calls out dangerous stretch of N Interstate
Mike Cooley, shown here ready to head out on his
daily bike commute before his 2013 collision.
(Photos courtesy Lisa Cooley)
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.”
Hit-and-run bike rider leaves one duck dead – UPDATED
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…]
30-day jail sentence handed down for drunken hit-and-run in SW Portland
Lisa Vesely after her arrest back in July.
A woman who drove her car recklessly while drunk, then rear-ended two other road users, only to drive away and leave them lying in the street with serious injuries was sentenced to just 30 days in jail on Tuesday.
The incident happened back in July when 32-year old Lisa Vesely was arrested for Assault, DUII, and Reckless Endangerment. Vesely was driving her car east on SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway when she swerved into Cameron Duff and Jasmine Zamora. The pair were headed home from training at the Alpenrose Velodrome. Zamora, 30, sustained serious back and neck injuries while Duff, 25, escaped with only cuts and bruises.
Vesely claimed she didn’t even know she hit anyone, yet a police statement at the time said she drove back to the scene of the crime, only to drive away again before being arrested at her home. It’s worth noting that Vesely had a blood alcohol level of .17, which is twice the legal limit.[Read more…]
Local victim advocate wants hit-and-run alerts texted to every cab and UPS driver
Victim advocate Kristi Finney.
A Portland advocate for hit-and-run victims is calling for a statewide alert system that would send a text message to thousands of professional drivers and members of the public to help nab suspects.
Kristy Finney, whose son Dustin was killed in 2011 by a man driving drunk on Southeast Division Street, is modeling her proposal on a similar system already in use in Colorado for “cases involving serious injury or death — and when a reliable description of the fleeing vehicle is available.”
Woman pleads guilty in Barbur hit-and-run
(Screen capture from KOIN.com.)
Miriam Clinton of Lake Oswego is likely to get more than two years in prison after a guilty plea Friday to driving while intoxicated, hitting a man (who was walking his bike) with her car and leaving him for dead on the side of Southwest Barbur Boulevard Aug. 16.
Clinton accepted one count each of third-degree assault, driving under the influence of intoxicants and failure to perform the duties of a driver, according to KOIN-TV’s report this morning from Multnomah County Court. Upon her release, her driver’s license will be suspended for five years, the Oregonian reported.
KOIN reported that Clinton “cried throughout Friday’s proceedings, and declined to comment afterwards.”
New website is latest effort from mother of hit-and-run victim
Screenshot of FacesofFatalities.com.
A bereaved mother whose 28-year-old son was killed by a drunk driver two years ago while biking on SE Division, has launched a website. Faces of Fatalities: Resources for Hit and Run Victims and Their Families is the work of Kristi Finney-Dunn. Since her son Dustin died in August 2011, Finney-Dunn has dedicated herself to public service and citizen activism and this website appears to be just her latest effort to spur the public dialogue around the scourge of dangerous driving and hit-and-run collisions.[Read more…]
Family turns to fundraising as search for Interstate hit-and-run driver continues
Flyer for Mike Cooley fundraiser.
Friends and family of Mike Cooley are holding a fundraiser this Friday (9/20) to support his recovery, as the search for the man who drove the white Ford pickup that hit him enters its fourth month.[Read more…]
Careless Driving citation for truck operator who right-hooked teenager on SE 7th
A car turns right onto SE Taylor from
SE 7th where a tow truck operator right-hooked a
bicycle rider last month.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)
SE 7th where a tow truck operator right-hooked a
bicycle rider last month.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)
The Portland Police have cited the tow truck operator who drove his vehicle into a 16-year-old who was bicycling on SE 7th last month. 64-year-old Richard Tombleson was cited for Careless Driving Causing Serious Injury to a Vulnerable Road User. Tombleson was on duty and driving for Speed’s Towing when the collision occurred.
According to the PPB, Tombleson was driving southbound on SE 7th when he turned right onto Taylor. The teenager on a bicycle was also heading south on 7th and he was right-hooked by Tombleson. Tombleson didn’t stop after the collision but he and his truck were found by the PPB shortly after the collision. The 16-year-old sustained “traumatic but not life-threatening injuries” and was taken to the hospital and listed in serious condition.[Read more…]
