70% of pedestrians killed in Portland traffic crashes last year were homeless, report finds

These deaths have becoming increasingly common as more camps crop up near major roadways and traffic deaths reach record-setting levels
Otis Britton remembers a car speeding toward him like it was on a race track.

On the early morning of Nov. 5, 2021, Britton and his friend, Laurie Lawyer, were standing in a bike lane near the intersection of Interstate Avenue and North Going Street in Portland. They were right next to the homeless encampment where they both lived.

The two had been just starting a drive to Swan Island to drop off food for a different homeless encampment when something flew out the back of the truck and into the bike lane, Britton recounted in a January interview with OPB. He said Lawyer pulled over to the right side of the road and turned on her hazards and headlights.

They were retrieving the item when a driver came barreling toward them at what Britton guesses was 80 or 90 miles per hour. The speed limit in the area is 30 miles per hour.

The car hit them both. Britton, 54, survived the accident. Lawyer, 56, died at the scene, one of 19 pedestrians killed by cars in 2021 while living on Portland streets.