Here’s how a turning SUV and two oncoming motorcycles equaled an injury crash on busy SE Powell Boulevard …
Drivers slow on SE Powell Boulevard, as Portland Police officers handle the aftermath of a collision between a motorcycle and a Toyota Rav4 near 40th Avenue, in the Creston-Kenilworth neighborhood.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers and emergency medical crews were dispatched to an injury traffic crash in Southeast Portland on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at 6:09 p.m., at the intersection of SE Powell Boulevard and 40th Avenue.
The call, dispatched by the Portland Bureau of Emergency Communications as an “Accident – Injury”, brought four officers to what appeared to be a collision between a sport-utility vehicle and a motorcycle. At the scene, officers indicated that the motorcycle rider had been taken to a local hospital for care.
A wrecked Toyota Rav4 and smashed motorcycle sit in the foreground on S. E. 40th Avenue as Portland Police officers survey the crash scene on Powell Boulevard.
According to PPB Public Information Officer Terri Wallo Strauss, investigators determined that two motorcycles were traveling eastbound on SE Powell Boulevard. “The motorcycles were riding near each other in the same lane, with one slightly ahead of the other.” Strauss told East Portland News.
“The vehicle, a Toyota Rav4, was driving westbound on Powell Boulevard, and was stopping in the center turn lane to make a left onto 40th Avenue when it collided with the motorcyclist,” Strauss related.
Where the crumpled motorcycle lies in the street, a Portland Police officer carefully picks up and examines the rider’s helmet.
Further details about the rider’s medical condition, whether anyone else required transport for medical evaluation, and any potential contributing factors, are still undisclosed and under review. Strauss said that, so far, no citations had been issued.
© 2026 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
