As is obvious in this photo, the Harley-Davidson motorcycle was involved in a side-impact, or T-bone crash, into the Toyota Sienna CE minivan which pulled out of a Powell Boulevard parking lot in front of it, on May 13th. (Photo by David F. Ashton)

On the overcast, but dry, Tuesday afternoon of May 13th – just before 2 p.m. – a beige Toyota Sienna CE minivan pulled out of a parking lot onto Powell Boulevard in front of an oncoming a Harley-Davidson “FLHX Street Glide” touring motorcycle. The location was near the 80th Avenue exit from the Powell Street Station – what many call the “Winco shopping center” – in the Foster-Powell neighborhood.

According to witnesses, several vehicles were lined up at the southern exit of the shopping center, waiting to enter Powell.

A driver told THE BEE that he was second in the exit line, and was “simply shocked” to see the minivan in front of him pull out into S.E. Powell directly into the path of an oncoming westbound motorcycle. “There wasn’t any traffic coming except a guy, who looked to be in his 50s, riding his motorcycle. I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing as it happened!”

Fortuitously, an ambulance was following the motorcycle by about a block; the paramedics saw the crash, stopped, and immediately rendered aid.

Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct officers who were dispatched to this “Accident-with-Injury” at 2:03 p.m. pulled in to find the adult male motorcyclist down, and suffering from serious injuries.

“The injured motorcyclist was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead,” a PPB official revealed.

The PPB’s Major Crash Team was called to the area – and as many as 15 officers also responded to the crash scene.

During the hours-long investigation, several blocks of eastbound S.E. Powell Boulevard, between 79th and 82nd Avenue of Roses, were closed to traffic – obliging affected motorists to detour to the south through narrow neighborhood side streets.

“The driver of the van stayed at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation,” confirmed PPB Public Information Manager Mike Benner. When later we called back to ask if an arrest had been made or a citation issued, Benner replied simply, “This case remains under investigation.”

On May 20th, the deceased motorcyclist was identified publicly by the Portland Police Bureau as David A. Dahlen, 55, of Portland.

If you have information about this incident, and have not spoken with Crash Team investigators, email it to – crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov – to the attention of the Traffic Investigations Unit, and refer to Case No. 25-125041.