Busted cell-phoning driver flees cop – and wraps car around pole

See why this driver, stopped near Lents Town Center, should have just accepted his citation – instead of nearly losing his life almost under the I-205 Freeway …

Almost under the I-205 Freeway, SE Woodstock Boulevard is temporarily closed while police and emergency medical first responders check out the single-vehicle accident.

Story and photo by David F. Ashton
By now, motor vehicle operators should be aware that Portland Police Bureau (PPB) Traffic Division officers are on the lookout for drivers gabbing and texting on cellular phones while driving.

A motorcycle Traffic Division officer spotted a cell-phone-using driver near Lents Town Center, and pulled him over at about 7:00 p.m. on August 1.

In the background AMR paramedics check out the driver in the ambulance, before taking him to the hospital.

“The driver drove away from a stop,” a PPB sergeant told East Portland News at the scene.

The driver stepped on the gas, and rocketed his green Subaru Forester eastbound – hitting speeds estimated to be in excess of 65 mph, weaving around other vehicles.

This Subaru Forester looks to be a total wreck, after police say the driver raced away from a cell-phone citation stop.

“He lost control, and skidded into a utility pole, on the south side of SE Woodstock Boulevard, just east of SE 94^th Avenue,” the sergeant said.

First-responders at the scene said that the 35-year-old driver was able to get out of his mangled car without aid, but was subsequently listed as a “precautionary trauma patient”, and was transported to OHSU because of what they called “significant intrusion” of the utility pole at least three feet into his vehicle.

Other charges are possible in this crash, pending the outcome of the investigation.

If you’re stopped by a police for using your cell phone – and you’re thinking about making a clean get-away – remember this photo!

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