Southeast Powell Blvd reopens after motorcyclist dies in crash

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A motorcyclist has died after a crash involving another vehicle, prompting officials to temporarily close down a section of Southeast Powell Boulevard in Portland Saturday, officials said. The road has since reopened. Just after 2 p.m., officers responded to reports of a crash involving a motorcycle and a vehicle at Southeast Powell Boulevard and 28th Avenue. According to Portland police, paramedics arrived and took the motorcyclist to a hospital, where they later died from their injuries. The driver of the involved vehicle stayed at the scene, authorities said. During the crash investigation, police closed down Southeast Powell Boulevard in both directions between Southeast 26th and Southeast 29th Avenues for several hours. By 6:30 p.m., SE Powell reopened, the Oregon Department of Transportation said. KOIN 6 News Photographer Dan Pyke went to the scene of the deadly motorcycle crash on Saturday afternoon and observed a confrontation between a separate driver and the police. Around 5 p.m., Pyke witnessed someone driving in a white SUV, who pulled up to the taped-off scene, stepped out of the vehicle, and appeared to talk with the police. The driver was not involved in the previous crash between another vehicle and the motorcycle. A Portland police spokesperson later told KOIN 6 that officers suspected the man of being "impaired." The driver got back into the car, briefly, before police officers surrounded the vehicle and pulled him out of the driver's seat, video captured by KOIN 6 shows. The SUV was apparently put in reverse before the driver was removed from the car, and it began rolling backwards — unoccupied. An officer quickly jumped into the driver's seat of the empty car and stopped it from moving after it traveled more than 20 feet, all of which was captured in a KOIN 6 photographer's cell phone video. Police said the driver of the white SUV was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants. The latest information on road closures can be found on ODOT's TripCheck site. Anyone with more information about the motorcycle crash is encouraged to contact Portland police.