Here’s a serious-injury accident, in outer East Portland, that could have been avoided …
A block west of the Lents neighborhood, police and firefighters are called to SE Flavel Street, where a pedestrian is struck and injured by an line-cutting driver.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
Some smashups involving a vehicle and pedestrian are due to darkness, stormy weather, or the sun low on the horizon.
Other accidents, such as this incident that seriously injured the pedestrian – on May 5 along SE Flavel Street, a half-block west of 82nd Avenue of Roses – are avoidable. At least that’s what a Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct officer suggested.
With a seriously injured pedestrian on board, this ambulance heads to a local hospital.
The result? At 3:11 p.m. that afternoon, Portland Fire & Rescue Lents Station 11’s Engine Company paramedics, an ambulance, and PPB officers were dispatched to the collision between a pieced-together looking white Hyundai sedan and a person on foot.
Here’s what took place: As is usual in weekday afternoon hours, a long line of vehicles were lined up on eastbound Southeast Flavel Street waiting their turn to get through the intersection of 82nd Avenue of Roses.
Firefighters pick up personal items left behind by the pedestrian.
Apparently, the Hyundai’s driver, also eastbound on Flavel Street, was very eager to make a left hand turn on to northbound Southeast 82nd Avenue of Roses – too keen to wait several cycles of the traffic light to get into the turn lane – and apparently decided to “cut the line”.
According to a PPB officer at the scene, as the driver approached the half-block-long line of stopped, eastbound vehicles, drove swiftly into the vacant westbound lane in an effort to reach the left-hand turn cue lane.
After speaking with witnesses, officers look over their notes.
“Midblock, a pedestrian walked between the stopped eastbound vehicles, from south to north, and was struck by the car,” an officer told East Portland News. “The pedestrian was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for medical evaluation and treatment; and, we’re preserving the scene of the accident until we learn the extent of the injuries,” the officer informed.
While the Hyundai’s driver was clearly at fault, “the pedestrian has some responsibility here, crossing a busy street midblock and darting out between stopped vehicles,” the officer concluded.
The impact this Hyundai hitting the pedestrian caused the victim to flip up and into the vehicle, smashing the windshield.
About three hours later, officers cleared the scene; members of the PPB’s Major Crash Team were not called to investigate.
© 2022 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News