GRESHAM, Ore. — Police in Gresham located a 17-year-old driver who struck and killed a pedestrian along East Burnside Avenue on Monday evening. It marks the 13th traffic fatality in Gresham this year.
Gresham police and medical crews responded shortly before 6:30 p.m. to reports of a crash involving a vehicle and a pedestrian at East Burnside and 181st Avenue. While officers were still on their way, callers reported seeing the driver leaving the scene headed westbound on Burnside.
Arriving at the scene, Gresham police and medical staff found that the pedestrian had died from their injuries. Police said they're not identify the victim until their family has been notified and they've been officially identified by the medical examiner.
Following witness reports, police found that the suspect's vehicle was disabled and had been abandoned near 172nd Avenue. Gresham police said that officers searched the area but did not locate the driver. They located the driver later when he returned to this home in Gresham.
The East Metro Vehicular Crimes Team responded to the scene to take over investigation of the crash. Police closed East Burnside to westbound traffic between 181st Avenue and 172 Avenue for the investigation. They expected to reopen the area around 9:30 p.m.
Neighboring Portland is on pace to set a record for traffic deaths this year, counting 66 deaths as of Nov. 28. That’s just two shy of last year’s 68 fatalities, the highest death toll in three decades.
Anyone who witnessed the collision and has not already spoken with an officer or has information about the case is asked to call the Gresham police tip line at 503-618-2719.
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