Motor Vehicle Accidents

April 17, 2026

Despite an Overall Drop, Portland Traffic Deaths Surged Among the Age-65+ Demographic in 2025

Many older Portlanders are very active, taking in what this area has to offer both by vehicle and on foot. Unfortunately, last year was an especially deadly year for people age 65 and up in Portland. Last month, the City of Portland released its traffic death data for 2025. While traffic deaths were down overall last year, one group saw a substantial upward spike. 13 of Portland’s 39 traffic deaths (33%) were people aged 65 or older. That statistic is a reminder that when older Oregonians take to the roads, whether on foot or in vehicles, they face a unique set of risks.

The 13 traffic deaths among the 65-and-up group were the highest in 10 years. The number represented a sharp rise from 2024, when Portland recorded only eight traffic deaths among those age 65+. Generally, the number of senior deaths has fluctuated between four and eight per year from 2016 to 2024, according to the city’s data.

One place where older people face a heightened risk of injury is while traveling on foot. The health benefits of walking are well known and well established, especially for older Americans. Nevertheless, negligent drivers can place them at risk of harm, and if they are involved in an accident, they face an increased risk of severe injury.

April 9, 2026

A Father Watched His Son Die on I-5 Near Canyonville. Oregon Law May Hold Multiple Parties Accountable.

by Matthew D. Kaplan

A routine road trip turned into an unthinkable tragedy on the afternoon of April 6, 2026, when a California family’s SUV slammed into a stalled semi-truck on Interstate 5 in Douglas County, killing an 18-year-old and seriously injuring his father and twin sister.

According to Oregon State Police, Brenden Larry Christensen, 61, of San Diego, was driving a white Freightliner commercial motor vehicle hauling a loaded trailer northbound on I-5 near milepost 90 near Canyonville when the truck stalled on an uphill grade in the outside lane. Investigators determined that the truck’s speed had dropped below 12 miles per hour as it struggled to climb the grade before stalling completely just before impact.

A young man of 18 from El Sobrante, California was driving an SUV with his father and twin sister as passengers, along with a family friend, when the collision occurred. The impact caused both the Honda and cargo from the truck to catch fire. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. His father and twin sister were airlifted to area hospitals with serious injuries. The family friend was transported by ground ambulance with minor injuries.

March 17, 2026

PBOT: Portland’s Traffic Fatality Numbers Last Year Were the Lowest Since 2018

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Auto accident fatalities are, as Portland Mayor Keith Wilson recently pointed out, a “fully preventable cause of death.” Optimized highway and roadway safety requires cooperation and collaboration between drivers and government authorities — the former must observe safe driving practices, while the latter must ensure safe infrastructure. Among the most devastating outcomes of these crashes are head injuries in car crashes, which can result in traumatic brain injuries, skull fractures, and long-term cognitive impairment. Even as state and local leaders work to improve roadway and highway infrastructure, auto accidents — and their tragic consequences — are still a serious problem.

If you have lost a loved one as a result of a fatal auto accident, or if you or a family member has suffered serious harm such as a head injury in a car crash, you have many pathways you will need to navigate to get the financial recovery you deserve. This may include interactions with the civil justice system, insurance companies, and more. As you work through this process, having legal representation from a skilled car crash injury attorney can be integral to holding the responsible parties accountable and recovering everything you are owed. An experienced personal injury car crash lawyer understands the full extent of these damages — including medical bills, lost wages, and long-term rehabilitation costs — and can fight to protect your rights.

Portland’s Traffic Fatalities Hit a Low Point

Earlier this month, OregonLive reported on some good news regarding fatal auto accidents in this area. The Portland Bureau of Transportation recently announced that last year the city logged 39 traffic deaths, a 38% decline from the average of the last four years.

February 27, 2026

Proposed Legislation Would Clear the Way for Driverless Waymo Vehicles to Hit Portland’s Roads in the Near Future

by Matthew D. Kaplan

OregonLive recently reported on a significant change that could be coming to Portland’s streets and highways. If House Bill 4085 becomes law, companies like Waymo would be allowed to deploy driverless vehicles on Oregon roads, offering delivery services and passenger rides. The potential of self-driving vehicles on Portland’s streets raises many questions, ranging from their safety to the amount of insurance coverage they will carry… and more. Driverless vehicles would represent just one more challenge for users of Portland’s roads. For those who have already suffered serious harm in a Portland crash, regardless of who was (or was not) behind the wheel, the impacts are many. Whether your case requires court action, insurance claims, or both, having an experienced Portland auto accident lawyer by your side can enhance your odds of getting what you need from your claims.

Waymo already offers self-driving vehicles in places like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Miami, Orlando, and Atlanta. It has also announced plans to expand to San Diego, Las Vegas, and Detroit this year and is “eyeing Portland as it rapidly expands to more states,” according to the OregonLive report.

House Bill 4085, as written, would limit how cities, including Portland, could regulate entities like Waymo. The current version of the bill prevents municipalities from banning self-driving cars. It also bans the imposition of taxes or fees that do not also apply to other ride providers like Uber or Lyft, OregonLive has reported.

January 16, 2026

A New Report Proposes a Plan to Achieve ‘Zero Deaths and Zero Injuries’ in East Multnomah County by 2035

by Matthew D. Kaplan

According to a new report, fatal and serious injury crashes are a significant problem in East Multnomah County. The report outlines an action plan with the stated goal of reducing fatal and serious accidents to zero within 10 years. Steps designed to reduce or eliminate serious and fatal accidents should be applauded because, as the report stated, “one traffic death is too many.” For now, though, these crashes remain a very real problem, and if you have been harmed by one, you should talk to a knowledgeable Oregon auto accident lawyer about your situation.

As noted above, the problem in East Multnomah County is worsening. In 2013-2020, east Multnomah County logged 396 serious or fatal crashes, averaging 49.5 per year. In 2021, there were 75. In 2022, that number was 116.

The committee’s plan would target improvements in locations like Gresham, Troutdale, Fairview, and Wood Village. The committee behind the report identified 10 traffic corridors, which it labeled “priority safety corridors,” and targeted specific proposed steps for those areas. These 10 included important thoroughfares like Stark Street, Halsey Street, Burnside Street, 181st Avenue, 182nd Avenue, and 223rd Avenue.

December 30, 2025

A Multi-Vehicle Crash Results in 1 Dead and Several Injured in Aurora

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Multi-vehicle accidents can lead to serious or fatal harm, such as what happened in a late November crash in Aurora. Crashes like this fatality are a reminder of both the profound importance of driving with care and safety, and the many types of harm that can result when negligent driving leads to a chain-reaction crash. If you are the one harmed by this kind of collision, you need to understand that multi-vehicle crashes can involve many permutations. That is why you need an experienced Oregon auto accident lawyer on your side to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. That way, you can hold accountable all those who were responsible and get everything you deserve out of your auto accident case.

In the Aurora accident, according to the Oregon State Police, a 39-year-old Portland man driving a Dodge van rear-ended a Hyundai SUV driven by a 36-year-old Aurora man. The OSP’s report stated that the impact between the van and SUV pushed the southbound SUV into the northbound lane of Highway 551. A northbound Toyota van, driven by a 55-year-old from Happy Valley, crashed into the passenger side of the SUV.

A 38-year-old woman who was a passenger in the SUV died as a result of her injuries. Several others were injured and taken to a nearby hospital.

December 17, 2025

Two Die in Deschutes County Collision Between an SUV and a Jackknifed Big Rig

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Crashes involving big rigs are highly likely to result in severe or fatal injuries. Because the harm is substantial, obtaining a fair outcome in a civil lawsuit requires careful investigation to identify everyone who should be held accountable. To ensure you do that, you need an experienced Oregon truck accident lawyer by your side to help you with every step of the investigation process.

A terrible crash in Deschutes County is a reminder that a stopped truck can be just as dangerous as a moving one if it is in the roadway and other drivers are not adequately warned.

R.K., a trucker from Fresno, Cal., jackknifed his rig on U.S. Highway 20 about 50 miles east of Bend on the night of Dec. 1, 2025. The semi-truck’s cab faced eastbound, but the trailer faced south, positioned perpendicular across both the east- and westbound lanes. A young couple was driving westbound on Highway 20 shortly after the trucker jackknifed his rig. Police suspect that, because of “a lack of active emergency warning equipment,” the couple did not see the rig and slammed their Subaru SUV into the trailer, killing both of them.

November 17, 2025

A Crash Involving a Teen Suspected of Driving While Impaired Leaves 2 Dead in Jackson County

by Matthew D. Kaplan

It is often said that drinking and driving do not mix. That is never more true when the driver involved is an inexperienced teenager. A teen who consumes alcohol and then drives with passengers in their vehicle places the safety of those passengers in grave danger, a harsh reality that a recent crash in Southern Oregon reinforces. If you have endured serious harm as a result of a teenage impaired driver, you have a right to seek accountability. Reach out to a knowledgeable Oregon auto accident lawyer to discuss how you can go about getting the just compensation you need.

According to the Oregon State Police, the driver in the Southern Oregon wreck was a 17-year-old who was driving along Oregon 140 in Jackson County. The driver failed to navigate a curve and lost control of his pickup truck. The truck crashed through the guardrail and then rolled into a nearby creek. The driver and an 18-year-old passenger died at the scene. The state police reported that neither person was wearing a seatbelt, and they think “impairment and speed” were factors in the crash.

Two other 17-year-old passengers suffered critical injuries.

October 17, 2025

A Multi-Vehicle Crash South of Portland and the Importance of Proper Pre-trial Accident Investigations

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Attorneys spend copious ink (and digital bandwidth) encouraging readers to consult legal counsel if they have been hurt in a vehicle crash. This advice is not self-serving — many researchers have surveyed the subject, and the results consistently show that injury victims with legal representation fare better (both in terms of success versus defeat and the amounts recovered) than self-represented victims. If you have been seriously hurt in an accident, one of your first steps should be to contact an experienced Oregon auto accident lawyer.

On TV, cases often turn on some sudden in-court revelation. In real life, the seeds of success (or failure) can be sown long before trial during the pre-trial investigation process.

Take, for example, an incident that occurred last month about 20 miles south of Portland. On the afternoon of September 26, a multi-vehicle crash closed the northbound lanes of Interstate 5. The collision claimed a total of seven vehicles. At the time that FOX 12 reported on the accident, the Oregon State Police disclosed that some of the vehicles’ occupants were injured, but did not say how many or how severe their injuries were.

September 30, 2025

Recent Research Reveals Some of the Deadliest Roads (and Counties) in Oregon

by Matthew D. Kaplan

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that more than 39,000 people died in traffic accidents in 2024. That represents an improvement from 2023, when nearly 41,000 people died on the roads in this country. Nevertheless, highways and roadways in Oregon and across the U.S. remain dangerous, as the many collisions, injuries, and deaths attest. If you have suffered a serious injury or lost a loved one in a motor vehicle accident, there may be many people or entities whose negligence led to your harm, from other drivers to governmental entities responsible for the maintenance and repair of the road where the crash occurred. To find out more regarding holding negligent parties accountable, you should talk to an experienced Oregon motor vehicle accident lawyer.

Counties like Multnomah and Washington typically rank at the top in terms of the most crashes and deaths each year, based on raw numbers. That does not necessarily tell the whole story, however, as they are also among Oregon’s most populous counties. Recently, Stacker delved into this data and ranked Oregon’s counties not simply by tallying the number of deaths, but by assigning a fatality rate based on dividing the number of deaths by the county’s total population.

The county at the top of the list was Harney County. Harney is a large, sparsely populated county in southeast Oregon. Although it logged only six deaths, that number, given the county’s low population (less than 7,500), was enough to make its fatality rate (80.5 per 100,000 people) nearly double that of the #2 county, Malheur.