Near Wheatland Road on Wallace Road/Highway 221, Driver Struck and Killed a Person Biking

Very near the Spring Valley Access and trail system on the Willamette Greenway, and just south of the intersection with Wheatland Road, a person in a truck has struck and killed a person biking on Highway 221/Wallace Road.

From State Police:

On Saturday, June 10, 2023, at approximately 11:28 A.M., the Oregon State Police responded to a vehicle versus bicycle crash on Hwy 221, near milepost 11.5, in Polk County.

The preliminary investigation indicated a silver 2021 Ford F-350, operated by Robert Weeks (47) of McMinnville, was traveling southbound on Hwy 221 when it passed a bicyclist, Adam Joy (55) of Portland, traveling in the same direction. The bicyclist fell over, into the lane of travel, just as the F-350 passed. Even though the F-350 had slowed when passing, the rider of the bicycle was run over by the F-350 and was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The operator of the Ford remained on scene and was cooperative with the investigation. [The time stamp was corrected by OSP from 1:28 to 11:28]

Today's paper

The paper uses the passive voice, erases the driver, and firms up "preliminary investigation indicated" translating it to "determined." It also has the wrong time. It shows bias.

Since Joy was a Vancouver middle school teacher and an experienced cyclist, BikePortland has written about it from a road biking perspective:

The roadway on this section of Wallace Rd is two standard lanes. There is little to no paved shoulder space beyond the two lanes. While this highway might look unsafe for cycling, that’s only because of how fast drivers go on it. The surrounding area is very popular for cycling with the bike paths in Spring Valley and the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway nearby (the latter being just on the other side of the Willamette River). The Wheatland Ferry — a fun way for bike riders to cross the Willamette River — is about two miles away and the Wallace Rd. section of the bikeway route is less than two miles from where Joy was hit.

I'm not sure what is the "Wallace Rd. section of the [Willamette Valley Scenic] bikeway route. I don't believe there is any Wallace Road section. But this is not an important detail.

I find Wallace Road stressful and uncomfortable to bike there, and I do not enjoy it. More committed road cyclists might not mind, but most people would. It is occasionally, however, a means to an end, part of travel to more pleasant places. It should be a better place to bike.

More significantly, BikePortland also discusses the matter of safe passing distance, and there are reasons to think the driver's exculpatory narrative deserves more scrutiny.

Update, September 21st

BikePortland with an update:

According to the Oregon State Police, the decision to not charge Weeks was made on August 22nd by Polk County District Attorney Aaron Felton. They say there was “insufficient evidence to support criminal prosecution.” While the DA and OSP felt the driver’s actions did not rise to the level needed for criminal penalties, they have issued Weeks two traffic citations: one for Careless Driving (ORS 811.135), and one for Unsafe Passing of a Person Operating a Bicycle (ORS 811.065).

Since Weeks’ careless driving led to the death of a “vulnerable roadway user,” (VRU) the citation triggers a stronger consequence. Bike advocates amended the careless driving law in 2007 for precisely this type of situation. Since the legal bar required for criminal penalties is so high, they sought to narrow the gap of consequences and bring more justice to families through the traffic citation. Violation of 811.135 with a VRU allows a court to require the driver to take a traffic safety course, perform up to 200 hours of community service, pay a fine of up to $12,500 and suspend their license for up to one year.

Update, January 25th, 2024

BikePortland published an important update today, "After reversal from DA, driver faces criminal charge for killing Adam Joy."

On December 19th, [driver Robert] Weeks was indicted by the Grand Jury of Polk County and now faces a charge of criminally negligent homicide....Weeks, a 47-year-old construction company owner, is scheduled to appear at the Polk County Courthouse in Dallas, Oregon on March 27th.

This post may be updated.

Killed in 2023

• Marganne Allen (biking on High Street)
• Julia Aubrey Wade (on Lancaster Drive)
  

Killed in 2022

• George Heitz and Moira Hughes (inside their own home)
• Jowand Beck, Luke Kagey, Joe Posada III, and Rochelle Zamacona (camping on Front between Union and Division)
• Unknown person (on Cordon Road)
• Unknown person (on Lancaster Drive)
• Unknown person (on Lancaster Drive)
• Charles Dwayne Hatfield (I-5 in Linn County)
• Wesley James Crossman (RR)
• Vince Edward Fouts (Woodmansee Park lot)
• Cassandra Sullivan (I-5)
• Cynthia Lynn Perry Rizzo (Sunnyview Road)
• Kelly Joseph Fields (Cordon Road)
• Michael Ernest Summers (I-5)
• Denise Marie Vandyke (State and High)
• Linda Louise Wisher (Madrona Ave)
  

Killed in 2021

• Unknown person (I-5 and Market Street interchange)
• Rachel Bunting (while operating a bus for Cherriots)
  
• Blake Saville (on bike)
• Christian Kennedy (on Silverton Road)
• Galina Dvorskaya (south Commercial)
• Marlene Moreno (downtown crosswalk)
• Becky Dietzel (on North River Road)
• Unknown person (on Church St downtown)
• Aleta Pierre-Kelly (Mission Street)
• Eileen Johnson (on bike)
• Unknown person (on bike crossing Salem Parkway)
• Anthony Garza (on bike, crossing I-5)
• Christine Klug (on I-5)
• Samuel Lannigan (Lancaster Drive)
  

Killed in 2020

• Jaime Le Ann Hall (on skateboard) 
• Sharon Pritchard
• Mario Lopez-Lopez (walking a bike)  
• Unknown person via SJ (on I-5 near Market St)
  
• Andrew Otho Polston (biking on Windsor Island Road)
• Jolene Braasch Berry (on bike)
• Richardo Morales Avila (in McMinnville)
• Octavious Calloway (on I-5 near Market St)
• Selma Pierce
• Hermilo Mata Jr.
• Unknown person (on mobility scooter) 
  

Killed in 2019

• Marshall Leslie
• Linda Adamson (south Salem) and Stephanie Ashford (biking on Lakeside Drive)  
• Joseph Rodriguez (Lakeside Drive)
  
• Jason Libel (on bike)
• Josephine Watkins
• Rodric Kenyon Drolshagen 

Killed in 2018

• Kirk Daniel Wilcox
• Jack Rice
• Alexandria Tereshka  
• Daniel Tibbot

Killed in 2017

• Srabonti Haque
• Sandra Hill
• Shatamera Pruden

Killed in 2016:

• Olivia Stroup
• Jaren Nash  
• Alex Armes
• Anthony Earnest  
• Baxter Harrell
• Unknown (just outside Salem)
• Bradley Goad (in Silverton)

Killed in 2015:

• James Alton
• Caroline Storm
• William Hatch 
• Travis Lane
• David McGregor  
• Michael and Christine Crossland 
• Rebecca Schoff

On erasing the driver - Columbia Journalism Review

For more discussion of language see these recent examples:

• "Headline Omits Verb, Erases the Driver; New TRB Paper Addresses Problem" (2019). This also has links to a follow-up study on framing and reader interpretation.
•  See the way the story develops with different publications in "Driver Strikes and Kills Marshall Leslie on Foot near Downtown Safeway." (2019)

For more on the cultural and legal context of our autoism in which we minimize the responsibility of drivers see:

• "Why so much Acceptance for Traffic Cone Theory of Walking?" with discussion of a Salem Police PSA (2015)
• Notes on a City of Salem PSA this month, "City PSA on Time Change and Safety Needs Paradigm Change Itself." It has many links to the history of jaywalking also. (2019)
• On "distracted walking," "Death on Foot: Too Much on Distracted Walking Canard." (2018)
• "Why Pedestrian Rights themselves may not be Sufficient." (2015)
• Two discussions of a law review article about our system of subsidy for autoism, "The Laws for Compulsory Autoism at The Atlantic," and "Police Publish Video on How to Speed Without a Ticket." (both 2019)