In the tragic death of a person needing motorized assistance Police theorized that his wheelchair slipped off of the sidewalk and onto the street. A semi passing by ran over the man and didn’t stop. Officials said the trucker may not have known that he hit the victim.
The area where the man was run-over and killed by a tractor-trailer was in the East Columbia neighborhood of Portland near the intersection of Northeast Vancouver Way and Northeast Gertz Road shortly before 9 p.m.
When police arrived, the man was dead. He was identified by authorities as Raymond McWilliams, 59. Police shutdown Northeast Vancouver Way between North Vancouver Avenue and Northeast Gertz Road.
A report has stated that seventy percent of pedestrians killed in Portland traffic incidents last year were homeless. Portland saw 63 traffic deaths in 2021, the most since 1990. Pedestrians accounted for 27 traffic deaths, up from 18 the year before.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Oregon deaths per mile traveled are 23% above the national average and 65% higher than in Washington state.
