UPDATED: INCLUDES INVESTIGATION VIDEO | Witnesses say they’re surprised by what they saw; officials aren’t saying much about this fatal smashup that took place on the edge of outer East Portland …
Just west of the Lents neighborhood, S.E. Powell Boulevard is closed to all traffic and pedestrians, as investigators look into the crash that took the life of a motorcycle rider.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
On the overcast, but dry, Tuesday afternoon of May 13th – just before 2 p.m. – a beige Toyota Sienna CE minivan pulled out of a parking lot into a Powell Boulevard lane in which a Harley-Davidson “FLHX Street Glide” touring motorcycle was approaching.
The location was near 80th Avenue exit of Powell Street Station – at what many call the “Winco shopping center” – in the Foster-Powell neighborhood.
According to witnesses, several vehicles were lined up at the southern exit of the shopping center, waiting to enter Powell.
A driver told East Portland News that he was second in the exit line, and was “simply shocked” to see the minivan in front of him pull out into S.E. Powell directly into the path of an oncoming westbound motorcycle. “There wasn’t any traffic coming except a guy, who looked to be in his 50s, riding his motorcycle. I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing as it happened!”
As this image clearly shows, the Harley-Davidson motorcycle was involved in a side-impact, or T-bone crash, with this Toyota Sienna CE minivan.
Fortuitously, an ambulance was following the motorcycle by about a block; the paramedics saw the crash, stopped, and immediately rendered aid.
Watch as investigators gather information about this fatal crash, in our aftermath video:
Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct officers who were dispatched to this “Accident-with-Injury” at 2:03 p.m. arrived to find the adult male motorcyclist suffering from serious injuries.
This officer with the PPB’s Major Crash Team takes a close look at the downed motorcycle.
“The injured motorcyclist was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced deceased,” a PPB official revealed.
The PPB’s Major Crash Team was called to the area – and as many as 15 officers also responded to the crash scene.
During the hours-long investigation, several blocks of eastbound S.E. Powell Boulevard, between 79th and 82nd Avenue of Roses, were closed to traffic, obliging affected motorists to detour to the south through narrow neighborhood side streets.
Set up to begin their investigation are members of the PPB’s Major Crash Team.
Instead of using their FARO Crash Recreation Unit, members of the Major Crash Team employed their new drone system – which, here, was about to take off – to document the crash.
“The driver of the van stayed at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation,” confirmed PPB Public Information Manager Mike Benner.
When later we checked back to learn if an arrest had been made or a citation issued, Benner replied simply, “This case remains under investigation.”
A PPB Major Crash Team officer interviews a witness of the fatal crash.
UPDATE:
On May 20th, the PPB revealed that it was 55-year-old David A. Dahlen, of Portland, who died in this crash. PPB officials have yet to reveal if an arrest or citation has been issued related to this fatal crash.
This is the ninth traffic-related fatality of 2025; another setback to the objectives of the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Vision Zero program.
If you have information about this crash, and have not spoken with Crash Team investigators, email it to crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov; attention Traffic Investigations Unit and reference Case No. 25-125041.
© 2025 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
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