Speed, impatience, and passing despite a double-yellow line, caused this fatal outer East Portland smashup …
The Portland Police Bureau Major Crash Team sets up to investigate the latest fatal crash along NE Marine Drive.
By David F. Ashton
About midpoint on NE Marine Drive along the north side of Portland International Airport, a violent two-vehicle crash killed the drivers of both involved vehicles the on Saturday, August 28.
Portland Police Bureau (PPB) North Precinct, and Port of Portland Police were dispatched to the smashup at 12:25 p.m. Then PPB [formerly with the now-disbanded Traffic Division] Major Crash Team investigators arrived at the wreckage.
Firefighters work to save the lives of victims involved in this head-on crash. PPB image
Because there are no side streets in the area usable as a detour, officers closed off the entire stretch of highway from NE 122nd Avenue west to 33rd Avenue.
“Officers found that a sedan and pickup truck had collided,” a PPB official said. “The driver of the sedan, identified as 24-year-old Knyshya Latreace Wesley, was deceased at the scene; Portland Fire & Rescue and the Port of Portland Fire Department extricated the pickup truck driver.”
Using their powered rescue tools, PF&R firefighters cut open the car, in an effort to save the driver’s life. PF&R image
The adult male patient, later identified as 50-year-old Gregory James Beuving, was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries – and he died of his injuries the following day.
“The preliminary investigation suggests speed and unsafe passing in a no-passing zone were contributing factors in the crash,” the PPB spokesperson concluded, without commenting on which vehicle’s driver was suspected of “unsafe passing”.
After the crash victim has been extracted from this pickup truck, firefighters move their rescue equipment back from the area. PF&R image
These are Portland’s 41st and 42nd traffic fatalities in 2021.
© 2021 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™