Tipsy teen driver slams into police car, in Hazelwood

Although clearly driving drunk, and with no driver’s license, this young driver will likely face no legal consequences for this outer East Portland crash …

After a drunk teen smashes into a Portland Police Bureau patrol vehicle, other officers are called to the scene in the Hazelwood neighborhood.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

Very early on Saturday morning, August 5, two Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers from the East Precinct were in their patrol car, driving west on NE Glisan Street in the Hazelwood neighborhood.

Responding to a PPB dispatch, the officers were on their way to an incident, when the patrol car they were in was struck by another car just west of NE 108th Avenue.

As regular drivers in that area know, a “street diet” has been imposed on section of NE Glisan Street. Instead of two westbound lanes, there is just one. The other part of the thoroughfare was turned into bike lanes and parking spots.

This PPB patrol car was towed away to be repaired, after being hit by an unlicensed, uninsured teen driver – who was drunk. PPB image

“The car that struck the patrol car was driving on the right, in that area designated for parking, attempting to pass the patrol car,” a PPB official reported.

After the crash, the officers checked on the occupants of the car that hit them. “Officers found the driver and passenger to be uninjured, but the driver appeared to be under the influence of intoxicants,” said the spokesperson.

The 17 year-old driver was taken into custody, taken in for “DUII” processing, and found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.15%. The driver was issued citations for:

Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants
No Operator’s License
Driving Uninsured
Unsafe Passing on the Right
Failure to Obey a Traffic Control Device
Failure to Drive within the Lane
Careless Driving contributing to an accident

Once it’s repaired, be watchful for this silver Mitsubishi – it might once again be driven by a tipsy teenager – without a license or insurance. PPB image

The officers were taken to an area hospital for evaluation, and later released.
However, the drunk teen – driving without a license, uninsured; carelessly – was not taken into custody, and most likely was already back home before the officers were released from medical care.

Comments are closed.