[music] Uh, I'm Sergeant Betsy Hornstein and I work for the Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division. Yesterday evening, we did have three fatal crashes that occurred in East Portland. All three of them did happen to occur within one district and that would be uh what we call 940s and they all happened uh with they all included vulnerable road users. Vulnerable road user would be uh somebody that's on foot, a pedestrian, a bicyclist, a wheelchair user, somebody who's not in a protected car or anything of that sort. One of them did occur at about 122nd in Gleon. Another one happened also on Gleason, a little bit further west of that same intersection. And then the third crash happened on 102nd. So this time of year with the weather changing and the loss of more light during our day, we do tend to see an uptick in crashes and that would be due to the poor lighting conditions. Uh there can be weather factors such as rain. We're getting more leaves on the ground and so the roadways are slicker. So all of those factors can contribute to that to crashes. That is out of the norm. Three crashes in one night is a lot. Uh especially in such a in such close proximity to each other and within such a short time frame. So we don't see this many crashes in in that small of a time frame very often. >> About your experiences. >> So I've been a member of the major crash team for several years both as an officer and as a sergeant. And so my role now as a sergeant uh we do have to deliver the unfortunate news to the loved ones of these individuals who lose their lives in these crashes. And so that's really one of the hardest parts of this job. And um you know, a fatal crash is something that's unpredicted. Most people are expecting their loved ones to come home. They're not expecting that knock on the door in the middle of the night with two police officers standing there saying, "I'm sorry. Your loved one is no longer with us anymore." And so it just it brings it home for a lot of people and for those of us on the major crash team and having to deal with these family members and help them now you know come to this realization that you know their world is up has been turned upside down. I would ask drivers to really slow down. You know, it there may be it may be clear, it may be rainy, but there are going to be a lot of children out and it will be dark and a lot of costumes are dark. People are harder to see. Sometimes kids, they move fast because they're having a great time and they're trick-or-treating and they aren't as aware of the dangers of being out and crossing the streets. So, please take the time to slow down and just take a second look for those who are out trick-or-treating. I don't have the exact exact number. Uh I do know that we are seeing fewer pedestrian fatalities this year as compared to last year. So pedestrians can wear high visibility clothing. So especially when it's dark out, if they wear a bright color or a vest, uh have a light with them, something that helps them stand out a bit more. That will help road or drivers see them. And then also I would recommend that before crossing the street, take a second look yourself because there may be the driver that just did not see you and it's worth just taking a couple extra seconds to make sure it's safe to cross the street. So all these crashes did take place on our high crash uh corridor streets. Uh I can't really speak to as to what any factors are in the road or roadway designs that if they did play a factor. A lot of the these crashes are still in the very beginning stages of of the investigation. Yes, it's fair to say that there is no connection between these three crashes. So, with uh daylight savings, obviously we're rolling back the clocks and so we're going to get a little bit more light on the front end, but on the back end of the day, we are going to be losing light. So, it's going to be getting darker earlier. And this is where I would ask drivers to please slow down, take a second look at where you're going, if you're going to make a turn, just be more heads up, and uh that could any any of those split seconds can help save a life. So, with regards to road safety, it is it's everyone's responsibility to make our community safer. So, we'd ask that drivers, motorcyclists, anyone operating a vehicle that's has an engine and is in those lanes of traffic, they pay attention and follow those traffic laws that are out there such as speed, the stop lights, the stop signs, any of the turning uh rules of the road. And with the vulnerable road users, the same. So, please don't cross against the cross signals. If there is a marked crosswalk, please use that. Those are there to help make [clears throat] you more visible and cross the roads a lot just safer. Um, and so again, this this goes to taking a little bit of extra time and making sure that the road is safe. So, if you're a pedestrian, make sure the car is actually stopped. If you have the rideway, sometimes cars just don't stop because they don't see you. So, just ensure that it is actually safe to cross the street. Yes. Uh we can expect to see our traffic division out and patrolling as usual as their this is part of their normal shift. Uh they will be out doing traffic enforcement and looking for any dangerous driving behavior. We're looking for the dangerous driving behaviors. A big common factor is speed. So speed contributes to a lot of crashes. Distracted driving contributes to a lot of crashes. And I encourage officers to focus on areas especially on these holidays where we know people tend to drink a lot more. uh focus their efforts in those areas to prevent the drinking and driving or if somebody does get behind the wheel to stop them as soon as they can before they can hurt somebody. Impairment does play a large factor in a lot of crashes that we see. They may not be as extreme as to a fatal crash. However, it's still impair driving impaired makes everyone on the road or it just makes it a lot more risky for everyone. So when you get behind the wheel after consuming and you know whether it's alcohol or marijuana or any other substance that affects your ability to drive, you put everyone else that is in the public at risk. Whether they are in a car or a pedestrian or a bicyclist, there's plenty of ways to get home and get where you need to be safely. That does not include driving while you're impaired. There's ride shares, you can walk, you can also become a pedestrian yourself after consuming these impairing substances or even just phoning a friend. >> [music]