A driver fleeing a crash on Southeast Stark Street allegedly pointed what looked like a gun at a bystander before abandoning a broken-down SUV a few blocks away, according to Portland police. The collision, which injured the driver of another car, happened Saturday evening near Southeast Stark Street and 160th Avenue in East Portland.
Portland police responded to the reported hit-and-run around 7:18 p.m. Saturday, according to KOIN.com. The station reports that the SUV driver collided with another vehicle and fled the scene, leaving behind an injured woman who police say was hurt in the crash.
As the driver fled, a caller reported that the SUV passed another motorist and pointed what appeared to be a gun at them, Terri Strauss, a police spokesperson, told KOIN. Officers later found the SUV empty and broken down near Southeast Stark and 157th, but the driver was nowhere to be found.
A Corridor Already Under Scrutiny
The crash unfolded on a stretch of Southeast Stark Street that the Portland Bureau of Transportation designates a High Crash Corridor between Southeast 108th and 162nd avenues, one of the city's top locations for severe vehicle and pedestrian collisions, according to the Portland Bureau of Transportation. The intersection at 160th Avenue has a marked crosswalk, a concrete median refuge island, and pedestrian rapid flashing beacons, according to a bulletin from the city posted to GovDelivery. PBOT's Safer Outer Stark project scope lists further crossing improvements at 160th Avenue.
Despite those improvements, citywide traffic safety data show a mixed picture for the area. Portland's 2025 Deadly Traffic Crash Report found that traffic fatalities dropped 38% citywide to 39 deaths last year, with East Portland fatalities falling 56% from the previous four-year average, according to the Portland Bureau of Transportation. The report describes the city's data-driven Vision Zero approach, even as incidents like this weekend's hit-and-run underscore the corridor's ongoing risks.
Potential Charges for Fleeing Driver
If located, the SUV driver could face charges related to the collision.
The allegation that the driver pointed what appeared to be a gun at a bystander could lead to additional criminal charges.
Second Major Incident on Stark Street in Days
This is not the first time this stretch of Southeast Stark Street has drawn heavy police response in recent days. Just two days earlier, on September 24, a regional task force operation on the 9600 block of Southeast Stark Street ended in a fatal police shooting of a wanted homicide suspect and the death of a Portland Police Bureau K-9, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. That incident drew more than 40 emergency units to the street, a scene Hoodline covered in its report on the Montavilla police shooting.
The back-to-back incidents add to a stretch of heightened public safety concern in East Portland. Police records also show that the Glenfair neighborhood, not far from the crash site, was the scene of a fatal apartment shooting investigated by Portland police's East Precinct in June, according to the Portland Police Bureau.
It remains unclear whether investigators have identified the owner of the abandoned SUV or determined the current condition of the injured driver. It is also unknown whether the object the suspect pointed at the bystander was an actual firearm or a replica, a detail that would shape which charges investigators ultimately pursue. Anyone with information on the hit-and-run is encouraged to contact Portland police.
