PORTLAND, Ore. — Two teenagers died after being hit by a MAX train in Northeast Portland late Saturday night, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and TriMet reported.
On Monday morning, PPB identified the two victims as Kaleb Banzer of Boring and Brayden Fear of Hillsboro. Both men were 19 years old.
Portland police said before the fatal collision on the MAX tracks, there was a single-vehicle crash on the freeway. Nobody was hurt in the crash but after it happened, Banzer and Fear, who were occupants of the vehicle, jumped over the barrier to try and retrieve a car part in the restricted area of the train tracks. While they were in the process of doing that, they were both hit by the train.
Officers responded to the train tracks, along I-84 at Northeast 28th Avenue, at around 9:39 p.m. and found the two 19-year-olds dead at the scene.
All I-84 westbound lanes between Northeast 43rd Avenue and I-5 were closed for several hours. The blue, green and red line services were disrupted for several hours, reopening around 6:14 a.m. Sunday. During the disruption, shuttle buses provided service for the area.
In a press briefing Monday morning, Portland Police Chief Bob Day addressed the crash and acknowledged that police are concerned that traffic-related deaths in Portland this year have been keeping pace with the previous two years, both of which saw three-decade highs — despite the police bureau's recent efforts to revive traffic enforcement.
"The trend that we're seeing in that is very disappointing," Day said. "So, looking at what the Traffic Division is and isn't doing is a priority — how do we evaluate their effectiveness, are we deploying them in the right places, are we working on the right issues."
Day said he's also had conversations with the superintendent of Oregon State Police about getting help with traffic enforcement alongside Gov. Kotek's recent directive for state police to crack down on fentanyl.
"I mean, that's clearly their lane so to speak, if I can use that pun," Day said. "Traffic — for a long time, for many many years — was our number one community concern. When we did community surveys, people talked about traffic and speeding and things like that, and it was a high priority and a point of emphasis. Of course, with all the other challenges, it's kind of gotten, maybe lessened, and now I think we're re-emphasizing the need for a proactive traffic approach."
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to email Portland police at crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov with the subject as attn: Traffic Investigations Unit. The reference case number is 23-288616.
In late October, a man was killed by a MAX train in Gresham. The man was within the restricted area of the train tracks and may have been wearing headphones. In September 2021, a woman died after she was hit by a MAX train traveling west between the Civic Drive station and Ruby Junction, and then in November 2022, a man died after he "inadvertently" walked in front of a train traveling west in the area of East Burnside Street and Southeast 197th Avenue.
Reporting at the time said all three victims were inside the restricted area of the tracks when they were hit.
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