INCLUDES AFTERMATH VIDEO | In addition to the details of this tragic death, see our exclusive coverage of a car that crashed into a Montavilla neighborhood house in outer East Portland …
The Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division’s Major Crash Team respinds to investigate a pedestrian-versus-SUV crash that proved fatal.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
This week, perhaps due to the succession of rainstorms blowing through outer East Portland, several crashes were reported on our neighborhood streets.
Many of these were fender-benders – which are, of course, catastrophic for those whose vehicles were totaled – other crashes left some with minor injuries. One wreck, however, claimed the life of a pedestrian.
May 4
Man dies after being struck by SUV in Madison South;
DWII driver arrested
Officers find a man lying in the road, after having been struck by a Toyota SUV. Courtesy KOIN-TV
In the wee hours of Saturday, May 4, Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct officers were dispatched to a Motor Vehicle Accident at 2:06 a.m., on NE Halsey Street and 92nd Avenue. When officers and paramedics arrived, they found a man seriously hurt. He was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Due to the severity of his injuries, the PPB Traffic Division’s Major Crash Team arrived to investigate the incident. A Traffic Investigator determined that a woman who had been driving a 2007 Toyota Sequoia SUV hit the man – and did stay at the scene.
An ambulance raced to take the badly-injured male pedestrian to a local hospital’s trauma center.
Officers determined that responsible driver was impaired. Officers arrested 23-year-old Nicole Marie Land of Milwaukie, and booked her into the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) at 11:09 a.m. that morning – on the Class B Felony charge of Assault in the Second Degree; as well as two Misdemeanor charges: Reckless Driving, and Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants.
The day after Land’s court arraignment, May 6, she was released from the MCDC without being required to pay bail. Release Reason: Close Street Supervision.
Although the driver stayed on scene, she was arrested and charged with a Felony and two Misdemeanors.
The day after the suspect’s release from custody, May 7, Portland Police revealed that the crash victim, identified as 52-year-old Federico Pedro Pascual, had died in the hospital as a result of his injuries, which may raise the major charge against the driver to manslaughter.
The case remains under investigation. If you have information about the incident, please contact crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov, attention Traffic Investigations Unit, and reference Case No. 24-109751.
May 7
‘New driver’ crashes into Montavilla house
Fortunately, no other vehicles were nearby on SE Stark Street when this car sped across the intersection, and into a yard.
This incident started with Portland Fire & Rescue’s Burnside Station 19’s Engine and Rescue companies – and an ambulance – being dispatched on May 7 at 6:27 p.m. for a “Structure Investigation – Vehicle into Building” report on SE Stark Street at 86th Avenue.
This brief video shows the aftermath of this unusual crash:
According to the conversation between the firefighters and dispatchers, at least one female was injured after a car crashed through a wooden fence, and stopped against the front steps of a house.
Two minutes later PPB East Precinct officers were dispatched for an “Accident-Injury” at the same location, which proved to be the same incident.
Within 10 minutes of the original dispatch, the firefighters had been released to go back to their station; the ambulance remained for a while.
A lone police officer looks over the scene after the crash, and talks to witnesses.
Although we arrived soon after the incident, all emergency first-responders had left the area, except for one PPB patrol car. The broken fence was located directly south of SE 87th Avenue.
“What I was told is that a young lady was learning to drive with her mom, when this took place,” a neighbor told East Portland News. “What I overheard was that, as they were [traveling south along SE 87th Avenue], the new driver mistakenly put her foot on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.”
It is both astonishing and providential that no one was seriously injured in this crash.
Fortunately, the street was clear of vehicles nearby, as the VW Golf sedan sped across the intersection, jumped the curb, went over the sidewalk, through a wooden fence, and partway up the front steps of a house.
The front airbags in the VW did deploy during the mishap.
“It looked like one of the people in the car had a cut, maybe on her head, but was treated at the scene and walked home, about a block away from here,” the neighbor observed.
It looks as if this newly-renovated Craftsman-style home, originally built in 1925, will need a bit more renovation after this incident.
“I know the people who own this house; as you can see, they only just finished remodeling it,” the neighbor remarked.
© 2024 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
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