A pedestrian was struck and killed by a car on SE Belmont Street in Southeast Portland late Friday night, prompting police to shut down a stretch of the busy corridor while they investigated. Officers were called to the crash between SE 35th and SE 37th avenues, and the closure ultimately stretched from SE 34th to SE 38th avenues as the scene was processed.
According to KPTV, officers confirmed a person on foot was hit by a car and died as a result. Police said they have released no other information at this time, leaving basic questions unanswered, including whether the driver stayed at the scene, what role speed may have played, and whether the crash happened during Portland’s most dangerous hours for pedestrians.
A Corridor Recently Slowed Down for Safety
The stretch of SE Belmont where the crash occurred sits within a section of roadway where the Portland Bureau of Transportation lowered the posted speed limit from 25 mph to 20 mph between Grand Avenue and 49th Avenue, a change made in 2025 as part of the city’s broader push to manage vehicle speeds in dense corridors. The agency’s own research has found that a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling 40 mph is four times more likely to die than one struck at 20 mph, underscoring why speed control has become central to the city’s crash-prevention strategy. Oregon law under ORS 811.135 also penalizes careless driving that endangers people or property, a statute that can come into play once investigators determine what led up to a fatal crash.
Oregon law treats every intersection as a legal crosswalk, marked or not, requiring drivers to stop and remain stopped for pedestrians crossing in an adjacent or approaching lane under Oregon Revised Statute 811.028. It is not yet known whether that statute bears on this case, since police have not detailed where exactly the pedestrian was crossing or how the collision unfolded.
Part of a Larger, if Improving, Pattern
Portland logged 39 traffic deaths in 2025, a 38% drop from the prior four-year average and the city’s lowest annual total since 2018, according to the Portland Bureau of Transportation. But the citywide data also shows the burden of that risk still falls heavily on people outside of vehicles: pedestrians and bicyclists made up nearly 59% of all 2025 traffic fatalities, with large SUVs, vans, and pickup trucks involved in more than half of those fatal crashes. Through mid-2026, Portland police and transportation officials had already recorded 25 traffic deaths citywide, including eight pedestrians, 11 motorcyclists, and six vehicle occupants…