UPDATE: Parkrose crash victim dies | Find out why two hit-and-run accidents this week in outer East Portland – both of them on 122nd Avenue – left investigators with more questions than answers. And, here’s what’s been learned about the fatal pedestrian accident on Marine Drive …
After two pedestrians are struck on two consecutive nights – one in Powellhurst-Gilbert, and the other in Parkrose – Portland Police Bureau officers gather to investigate.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
A “Welfare Check” call on November 20 turned into a fatal “Pedestrian Struck” incident; that, and a street brawl one evening later on November 21, both involved hit-and-run drivers. That’s what officials at the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) are saying.
Then, a pedestrian was struck and killed in Argay Terrace, along NE Marine Drive.
November 20: Powellhurst-Gilbert ‘Welfare Check’ turns into hit-and-run death investigation
PPB East Precinct officers were dispatched very early Saturday morning, November 20, at 12:04 a.m., after receiving a report of a “man down” at SE 122nd Avenue and Tibbitts Street in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood.
When they arrived, officers found the man was more than down – he was dead, lying in the road, about half way between SE Division Street and Powell Boulevard.
Members of the PPB Major Crash Team investigate this deadly collision.
Based on preliminary investigation by the officers, the PPB Major Crash Team was called in.
Later that day, a PPB official announced, “The bureau’s Major Crash Team has determined this individuals’ death to be the result of a hit-and-run collision with a motor vehicle.”
Officers look for evidence in this ongoing investigation.
On November 24, after his family had been notified of his death, officials revealed that the dead man was 45-year-old Robert Joseph Leon.
If anyone has information about this incident, please reference Case No. 21-324538 when contacting crimetips@portlandoregon.gov – and in the Subject Line write “Attention Traffic Investigations Unit”. Or, you can call 503-823-2103.
November 21: Parkrose knife fight leads to a man run over in a parking lot
In a parking lot, officers don’t see any knife fight, but they do find a seriously injured man who had been run down by a vehicle.
A night later, on November 21 at 1:05 a.m., it was PPB North Precinct officers who were sent to what was apparently another hit-and-run incident – this time, near the north end of 122nd Avenue in Parkrose.
Several police cruisers were dispatched after a report of 15 people fighting with knives in a parking lot, in the 4400 Block of NE 122nd Avenue. However, when officers rolled up to the parking lot, any knives there may have been had disappeared.
An ambulance, with an injured man inside, prepares to take the victim to a local hospital.
“Officers found a man with life-threatening injuries, consistent with having been hit by a vehicle,” the PPB spokesperson revealed. “Although the vehicle responsible was no longer in the parking lot, in conducting the investigation officers determined the incident to be a crash, as opposed to an ‘intentional targeting’ with a vehicle.”
The man was taken to a local hospital with what officials described as “serious injuries”.
Again, the PPB The Major Crash Team was called in, and assumed responsibility for the investigation.
UPDATE:
The man seriously injured in this hit & run has died of those injuries while being cared for in a local hospital. He is identified as 20-year-old Neri Ramirez-Mendoza, who was visiting from Tacoma.
If you have information about this incident, please contact crimetips@portlandoregon.gov and in the Subject Line write “Attention Traffic Investigations Unit”; or, call 503-823-2103. When you do, please reference Case No. 21-325657.
November 24: Pedestrian struck and killed along NE Marine Drive
NE Marine is closed to traffic, east of NE 122nd Avenue, after a motorist strikes and kills a pedestrian in the road.
After the sun sets, NE Marine Drive goes dark; there are no streetlights to illuminate the roadway where cars and trucks tend exceed the newly-lowered posted speed limit.
On November 24 at 5:59 p.m., PPB officers were dispatched to NE Marine drive on the report of a pedestrian having been struck on a car. The location was east of NE 122nd Avenue by the equivalent of about six city blocks.
Although the image isn’t clear – it was taken six blocks away, in darkness – on the left side, you can see members of the PPB’s Major Crash Team looking for evidence along side of the roadway after a deadly crash.
“Officers found that a pedestrian was struck and killed while attempting to cross [the road] in the 128000 Bock of NE Marine Drive,” a PPB spokesperson confirmed.
Once again, the PPB’s Major Crash Team set up at the scene, and to oversee the investigation of the collision.
Markers are set up in the roadway that provide reference points for the PPB’s Leica Crash Investigation Collision Reconstruction Camera.
“The driver of the vehicle stayed at the scene, and cooperated with the investigation,” is the only information that the Police Bureau official provided to us at the time.
If you witnessed, or have information about this incident, email crimetips@portlandoregon.gov and in the Subject Line write “Attention Traffic Investigations Unit”; or, call 503-823-2103. Also, reference Case No. 21-329123.
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Especially now, with early sunsets and long winter nights upon us, be vigilant and watch out for pedestrians in or near the street, as you drive!
© 2021 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
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