Another pedestrian killed crossing SE Foster Road

See why, this time, authorities don’t blame the driver, bad street lighting, or poorly-marked crosswalks for this death …

Police closed SE Foster Road for several blocks either side of SE 65^th Avenue to investigate an accident in which a pedestrian was struck and fatally injured.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton
With so many deaths, injuries, and near-misses of pedestrians crossing SE Foster Road, this story may not be novel, but it is nevertheless tragic.

On May 2, about 9:00 p.m., a man wearing dark clothing was out for what people at the scene said was an evening of bar hopping along SE Foster Road near SE 65^th Avenue. “He stepped out between parked cars,” an unidentified witness told us. “The driver of the white pickup truck didn’t even have time to tap his brakes.”

Police officers start gathering evidence at the scene of this pedestrian-versus-truck accident.

A PPB Traffic Division officer with the Bureau’s Major Crash Team uses an “accident-mapping computerized surveying unit” to document the accident.

Portland Fire & Rescue’s Engine 25 crew arrived at the scene at 9:05 p.m., according to Bureau records. An American Medical Response paramedic team arrived shortly thereafter in an ambulance. That crew attempted to stabilize the victim and make him ready for a quick trip to OHSU’s trauma unit. “The man was transported via ambulance, but died en route to the hospital,” said Portland Police Bureau (PPB) spokesperson Detective Mary Wheat.

Because the review of an injury accident turned into traumatic death investigation, the PPB Major Crash Team was called to the scene. “The driver of the vehicle involved in this incident remained at the scene, and is cooperating fully in the investigation,” stated Wheat. “Investigators do not believe the driver was impaired, and speed was not a factor.”

The deceased man was later identified as Jeffrey Paul Waldrop, who some people at the scene said lived not far away from that intersection.

Officers stand guard next to the pickup truck which struck the pedestrian on S.E. Foster Road. Investigators say they believe the driver wasn’t speeding or impaired.

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