Two men are dead after their vehicle crashed off of the Morrison Bridge onto SE Water Ave. Adding to that tragedy was a two-car crash in Linn County that took the lives of a Portland woman and an unidentified teenager this past Sunday. The Portland Police Traffic Division Major Crash Team responded to the scene of the Morrison bridge viaduct crash where they did an investigation. Speed and alcohol are reported in the news as possible causes.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the vehicle’s driver, in a black 2003 Mercedes 500, was eastbound on the Morrison Bridge viaduct when he struck the barrier and went over, landing on the street below. The Sunday, June 4th drive had Central Precinct officers responding at 2am to a report of a rollover crash on Southeast Water Avenue and Southeast Belmont Street. Two men were already deceased when they got to the scene.
The two-car crash in Linn County a Portland woman Kimberly Ritter, 56, and a teenage boy were declared deceased at the scene with a second teenage boy critically injured. Police say they responded to the collision just after 3:15 a.m. on Interstate 5 near milepost 233.
An Infinity QX5 driven by 64-year-old Portlander Jimmy Davis rear-ended a Nissan Rogue causing the Infinity to leave the road. He had non-life-threatening injuries. Glenn Stillman of Independence the driver of the Nissan Rogue. He was uninjured in the crash according to OSP. This is the 25th and 26th traffic fatalities for 2023 in the City of Portland.
During the investigation, eastbound traffic on the Morrison Bridge was closed, as was traffic both directions on Southeast Water Avenue. In the Linn County crash, police say the interstate was impacted for nearly five hours during the on-scene investigation and that the investigation is still active.
