Why the driver swerved into a wooden utility pole is unclear, but the result of this outer East Portland smashup was certain …
Ending up near the Mt. Hood Community College’s Maywood Park Campus, this late-model sedan left the street, and crashed — apparently killing its driver in the collision.
By David F. Ashton
Moments after official moment of sunrise on May 31, Portland Police Bureau (PPB) North Precinct officers were sent to NE 102nd Avenue, just south of Prescott Street, when callers reported a single-vehicle crash there at 5:32 a.m.
Although it was on the border between the cities of Maywood Park and Portland, it was PPB’s Major Crash Team that was called in to investigate.
Officers observed that an automobile appeared to have left the roadway for some reason, and had crashed into a wooden utility pole.
It’s unclear what led to the car ending up almost inside the community college’s parking lot in Parkrose.
The driver initially appeared to be unconscious but breathing — but officers soon learned this to be “agonal breathing” (a brain-stem reflex from a lack of oxygen to the brain), and that the subject was in fact already dead..
At the scene officers wouldn’t speculate whether the driver had experienced a medical emergency, had fallen asleep, or just drove off the street.
If you have information about this crash and have not already spoken to police, email crimetips@portlandoregon.gov , attention Traffic Investigations Unit, and reference Case No. 22-144599 – or you can call (503) 823-2103.
© 2022 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
click here to subscribe
