Portland Car Accident Attorney Blog

The driver accused of killing an 18-year-old bicyclist in a hit-and-run accident last July in Clackamas was sentenced last week in the criminal case filed after the fatal bicycle accident. The young man who lost his life was riding on Southeast Mather Road when a driver approached from behind, struck the bicyclist and continued on his way. Police believe that the driver of the car that killed the Clackamas teen never hit the brakes until after the fatal accident. The driver then reportedly fled the scene.

The 29-year-old, who was accused of driving the car involved in the fatal bicycle accident, turned himself in several hours later. Investigators believe the driver was under the influence at the time of the fatal accident, but authorities could not prove that in the criminal case.

Law enforcement obtained credit card receipts that showed the driver had purchased $16 worth of beer at a bar before the fatal accident. Authorities could not corroborate that evidence with something to prove the driver had consumed sufficient beer from those receipts.

A head-on collision May 2 on the Astoria-Megler Bridge left one man dead and a second accident victim with severe injuries. The tragedy happened around 5:25 a.m. when a 27-year-old traveling northbound on the bridge in a Hyundai is believed to have crossed the centerline. The Oregon State Police say that the Hyundai slammed into a southbound Toyota pickup truck.

The pickup wound up on a guardrail, with the 57-year-old driver trapped inside with serious injuries. The Hyundai remained in the traffic lanes on the bridge. The driver, a Long Beach man, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Emergency crews spent more than an hour rescuing the driver of the pickup, who is also from the Peninsula. The injured driver from the pickup truck was first taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital after the car accident, but he was later transferred to Legacy Emmanuel in Portland.

A two-vehicle collision Sunday afternoon on the McKenzie Highway near Leaburg left five people injured, according to the Oregon State Police. Authorities say that at least one of the car accident victims suffered serious injuries in the Highway 126E collision. The serious injury traffic accident occurred at roughly 2:00 Sunday afternoon.

Authorities believe that a woman from Springfield was traveling northbound on Holden Creek Lane in a black Corvette, when she apparently failed to stop for a T intersection at the highway. OSP officials say that the Corvette broadsided a red Nissan Quest van as it traveled eastbound on the McKenzie Highway with four women aboard.

A 23-year-old Bend man was flown to Oregon Health & Sciences University in Portland Sunday night after a car accident on Highway 26 near Government Camp. Authorities say the man slid on Highway 26 before crossing into oncoming traffic. The man's Volvo station wagon apparently slid sideways into the westbound lane of the highway, where the Volvo was struck broadside by an oncoming pickup truck.

Oregon State Police say the man from the Volvo was wearing a seat belt, but sustained critical injuries in the crash. Obviously, the force of impact and other hazards involved in a wreck can often be more than safety equipment in a vehicle can handle in protecting against injury.

Statistics do show that seat belt use can certainly save lives and reduce serious injuries in a wreck, but they are not a complete protection against injury. Thankfully, Oregonians rank near the top of the list of all states in terms of seat belt use.

An 18-year-old Roseburg man suffered serious personal injuries in a Sunday afternoon accident in Douglas County. The Oregon State Police say that a 62-year-old Glide woman attempted to make a left hand turn along Highway 138 in Glide when her PT Cruiser slammed nearly head-on into the young man riding his motorcycle. Police say the rider was traveling westbound on Highway 138 at around 3:10 p.m. when the car and motorcycle accident occurred.

The force of the impact caused the airbags in the PT Cruiser to deploy. The motorcycle rider suffered serious, but undisclosed injuries in the tragic accident. Authorities say that the motorcyclist was initially taken to Mercy for treatment. However, the Oregon motorcycle accident victim was later transferred to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield. Officials report that the young man was wearing a motorcycle helmet at the time of the crash.

Oregon State Police say that three people were killed in a head-on collision Sunday afternoon near Vale. Law enforcement says that a 31-year-old woman apparently lost control of her sport utility vehicle as she was attempting to navigate a downhill curve on Highway 26. The SUV reportedly crossed over the center line, where the SUV slammed head-on into a Dodge pickup truck that was towing an empty livestock trailer.

A 76-year-old man from Paulina, Oregon, was traveling westbound on Highway 26 in that Dodge pickup truck. Oregon State Police say that the Paulina man was killed in the crash and pronounced dead at the scene. Two other people, each from the SUV were also killed in the tragic head-on wreck. The woman driving the SUV and her 26-year-old husband, also from Boise, were fatally injured in the car accident.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has announced its concerns over the number of pedestrian fatalities that already have occurred in the state this year. Followers of this blog may remember many reports last year on the increasing number of pedestrian accidents that plagued the state. Now officials say that pedestrian fatalities in Oregon have risen as compared with last year's tragic statistics.

ODOT reports that pedestrian fatalities have spiked 25 percent this year when compared to 2011. With warmer weather and longer days during the springtime, transportation officials say that more Oregon residents set out on foot to take a walk, or to go about their daily routine.

Springtime pedestrian accidents generally increase as walkers and drivers re-learn to look out for each other. As a result, ODOT is urging motorists and walkers alike to be on the lookout for each other to help keep our roads safe.

Four people were injured Monday in a crash in Southeast Portland. Firefighters responded to an accident at Southeast 96th Avenue and Southeast Market Street that involved two vehicles, including a hybrid Prius. Three people were trapped in the Prius, which had rolled onto its side in the car accident.

The hybrid nature of the Prius gave firefighters a new issue to deal with during the rescue operation. Thankfully, the firefighters had received training in dealing with the electrical systems involved in the Prius in an accident situation. Firefighters needed to use the Jaws of Life to extricate the three occupants of the hybrid, but needed to deal with the car's energy supply before cutting open the roof of the vehicle to avoid injury from an electrical shock.