See why officials say that this guy – still in the hospital – should NOT have been driving his spiffed up car, just out of the shop …
-1 Just before rush hour, SE Washington Street is shut down – while emergency responders investigate a crash involving a flying-and-flipped-over Jaguar.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
May 3 was a lovely, warm afternoon for a drive in outer East Portland. But, one man’s cruise came to an abrupt end at the east edge of the Montavilla Neighborhood at about 4:15 p.m.
“From SE 84th Avenue, I turned east on SE Washington Street,” said an eyewitness, who declined to give her name.
“This guy [driving the Jaguar] was really in a big hurry. When I pulled out on the street, there wasn’t anyone there. A moment later, the front of his car was filling up my rearview mirror. He cut around another car, swerved, and crashed.”
-2 Portland Police Officers compare witness statements about this crash.
-3 A PPB Traffic Division Officer stands in what they call “slew marks” – the tires didn’t skid from braking; the car was doing a high-speed “drift” from lane to lane.
The result from the wreck was clearly evident. The Jaguar’s tire slew marks showed the vehicle’s path on the street; the broken steel chain link fence and end post indicated where the car hopped the curb and mowed it down.
The car came to rest in the front yard of a home on the north side of SE Washington Street, midway in the 8700 Block – lying on its top – with the low-profile tires ripped from the shiny chromed wheels.
-4 The path this Jag took is evident: Up across the sidewalk, through the steel fencing through a yard – flipping over before coming to a stop.
Looking over the scene, a Portland Police Bureau (PPB) Traffic Division officer surmised the vehicle has been traveling in excess of 70 mph before it crashed.
Another witness said he’d overheard someone saying the driver had just gotten the Jaguar “tricked out” at a nearby shop.
Others at the scene said the driver “looked in bad shape” with “his arm attached only by his shirtsleeve”. Some said the Jag’s driver resisted medical first responders from Portland Fire & Rescue Engine 19 and AMR paramedics.
-5 Outside the smashed, once-luxury car was a half-consumed 40-ounce bottle of “Olde English 800”.
“47-year-old Darryll Ray Harris was cited for DUII, Reckless Driving, and Driving While Suspended,” PPB Public Information Officer Sgt. Peter Simpson told East Portland News.
A booking photo and information is unavailable, it is believed, because Harris is still at OHSU recovering from injuries sustained in the crash.
© 2013 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News