Crash on Powell Blvd crumples cars, stalls commuter traffic

Published 12:00 am Sunday, August 25, 2024

A two-car, side-impact (“T-Bone”) smashup in the Brooklyn neighborhood, on S.E. Powell Boulevard near 10th Avenue on Thursday afternoon, August 1st, brought to a halt traffic along the highway.

Medical emergency first responders and Central Precinct officers who arrived at the 6:49 p.m. collision found the wreckage blocking traffic in the eastbound lanes of Powell coming off the Ross Island Bridge.

“As bad as this crash may look, everyone involved declined medical treatment,” a PPB Central Precinct officer shrugged and told THE BEE. “From what we know, so far, the driver of a Toyota Camry LE was on ‘one-way’ S.E. Brooklyn Street, attempting to either cross Powell to 10th Avenue, or to make a left-hand turn onto eastbound Powell.

“An Audi A6 30T sedan, eastbound on Powell Boulevard, struck the Toyota broadside.

The officer pointed out, “Years ago, this could have been a serious injury crash. But, with modern safety features in cars these days, everyone walked away from the crash today.”

Since there were no reported injuries, no investigation was conducted and on citations were issued, leaving the respective drivers’ insurance companies to work it out. But there were quite a few commuters late for dinner that evening before Powell – which is also Oregon Highway 26 – was reopened.