PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A crash between a Toyota Camry and a Ford F-350 pickup truck killed 2 people — including a 12-year-old — and seriously injured 4 more Monday night in Northeast Portland.
Shortly before 9 p.m., the speeding Camry was headed west on NE Lombard when it slammed nearly head-on into the F-350 near 15th Street.
Neighbor Daniel Bailey said he “heard a big boom and I went out there and the car’s on fire.” He said he and others went over to the truck but “we couldn’t get the doors open. They were all jammed in.”
The 2 people were already dead when first responders arrived. One of them, 12-year-old Akaaylee Burton of Scappoose, was a passenger in the 1988 F-350.
The other fatality was a passenger in the 2003 Camry — later identified as 42-year-old Quilly Lucas of Fairview.
On Tuesday authorities said one of the 4 injured people was in critical condition. Two others were serious and one was said to be stable.
DoveLewis said a dog was also injured in the crash. The dog is in critical condition at the DoveLewis ICU but its family will be able to take care of it when it recovers.
Investigators believe intoxication and speed are both factors in this crash.
“It’s sickening. They need to do something about the traffic here,” Bailey told KOIN 6 News. “They drive through here at 60 miles an hour. All they see is straight ahead.”
Tim Schnell, who owns Schnell Automotive and Supply at 15th and Lombard, agreed. He wasn’t there when this crash happened, but said people always exceed the speed limit.
“If you drive 45 down Lombard at rush hour traffic, you’re going to get run over,” Schnell told KOIN 6 News. “People will flip you off, people will honk their horn. It’s quite amazing.”
Schnell’s dad opened the shop in 1951 and he said “its gotten worse” over the years.
“Nobody has respect for anybody else and I don’t know how you fix that. And even with the accidents we’ve had on this corner, nobody has ever seen to have done anything about it, whether it’s the state or the city or anybody.”
He’s seen many crashes over the years as people try to beat the traffic.
“How do you make people more aware that driving the car is quite a responsibility? I don’t have an answer for you,” Schnell said. “A 12-year-old gets killed is pretty senseless. … That’s sad, beyond sad.”This story will be updated.