A child riding an electric scooter was seriously injured Wednesday night on S. Ivy Street in Canby when a driver struck the child and fled the scene without stopping, according to police. The crash happened near Southwest 3rd Avenue around 7:20 p.m., and investigators say the child's condition was not immediately known in the aftermath.
According to KATU, the vehicle involved was a white cargo-sprinter-style van, and the driver drove southbound on Ivy Street after hitting the child. Police said the van likely has front-end damage from the impact, and it is wrapped in distinctive green-and-black decals that cover the entire vehicle, along with a logo of some kind on its rear doors. Investigators are asking anyone who recognizes the van, or the business it may be associated with, to come forward.
Canby Police are asking anyone with information to call the department's non-emergency line at 503-655-8211. The case number is 26-018884.
A Felony Charge Looms If the Driver Is Found
Leaving the scene of a crash that causes physical injury is a serious crime under Oregon law. Under ORS 811.705, the offense known as failure to perform the duties of a driver to injured persons is a Class C felony carrying up to five years in prison and a $125,000 fine, a charge that escalates to a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison if the victim suffers serious physical injury, according to Justia Law. A conviction also triggers a mandatory five-year license revocation, on top of any prison time or fines a court imposes, according to Anfuso Law.
Oregon has rules for e-scooter riders. Oregon requires e-scooter operators to be at least 16 years old to legally ride on public streets and mandates helmet use for all riders regardless of age, per Forest Grove Police Department guidance. State law also caps e-scooters at 15 mph on public roads; Forest Grove Police Department guidance prohibits e-scooters on all sidewalks.
Parents Can Face Citations
This September, Oregon police agencies publicly warned that parents can face $115 traffic citations if their underage children operate e-scooters or e-bikes on public streets in violation of the state's age requirements, KPTV FOX 12 Oregon reported. The warnings come amid what officers describe as a rise in complaints involving minors riding motorized scooters recklessly across the region.
The Canby crash also echoes a tragic pattern playing out across the Portland metro area. In June, a 14-year-old boy riding an electric scooter was struck and killed by a vehicle in Beaverton, a case that KGW-TV reported alongside calls from transportation safety advocates for greater driver awareness and lower speeds near vulnerable road users.
A Corridor Through Canby
S. Ivy Street functions as a key municipal arterial linking Canby neighborhoods to Oregon Route 99E.
Statewide, the danger facing people outside vehicles has grown sharply. Pedestrian and vulnerable road user fatalities in Oregon surged 89.6 percent between the 2002-2006 and 2018-2022 tracking periods, with non-motorized and micro-mobility users suffering injuries at far higher rates per capita than motor vehicle occupants, per ODOT data. Clackamas County itself contains 11 of Oregon's 60 most dangerous traffic locations, roughly 18 percent, nearly double the county's 10 percent share of the state's population, according to an analysis cited by the Dawson Law Group.
This is not the first time Canby Police have appealed to the public over a driver who fled a crash. In August, the department sought help identifying a vehicle that left the scene near NE 10th Avenue and N Maple Lane after exiting local fairgrounds property. Investigators have not said whether that case is connected to Wednesday's crash on S. Ivy Street, and no arrest has been announced in either investigation.
