A 41-year-old Portland man died last Saturday after being struck by three separate vehicles on Highway 101 near Gleneden Beach in Lincoln County, and one of the drivers involved was stopped south of the crash scene and arrested on suspicion of failing to perform the duties of a driver. Nicholas Ryan Perkins was pronounced dead at the scene following the multi-vehicle strike near milepost 122 in Lincoln County.
According to KATU, Oregon State Police responded to the vehicle-pedestrian crash on September 19 after dispatchers received reports of a person walking in the roadway. Investigators say Perkins was in or near the lane of travel when he was first struck by a gray Chevrolet Colorado driven by Renee Ronilyn Wohlwend, who was heading southbound on the highway. A white Mercedes Sprinter van driven by Gregory Lear Miller, also traveling southbound, struck Perkins next, followed by a blue Toyota Sequoia driven by Michael Aaron Hadden, who was headed northbound at the time.
None of the three drivers reported injuries, per the same account. Miller, a 34-year-old resident of Flagstaff, Arizona, was stopped south of the crash site, detained, and arrested on suspicion of failing to perform the duties of a driver.
What Oregon Law Says About Fleeing a Fatal Crash
What Oregon Law Says About Fleeing a Fatal Crash Failing to perform the duties of a driver to an injured person is addressed under Oregon law. State law requires drivers involved in a crash causing injury or death to stop immediately, render reasonable assistance, and exchange identifying information with police. Separately, Oregon law requires any driver involved in a crash resulting in injury, death, or more than $2,500 in property damage to file an official collision report with the Oregon DMV within 72 hours, per Paulson Coletti, and failure to do so can trigger a license suspension.
The crash affected Highway 101 for about four hours while investigators worked the scene, the station's report notes.
Nationally, drivers struck and killed 3,024 pedestrians in the first half of 2025, a 10.9% decrease from the same period a year earlier, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.
Perkins' Portland Ties
Perkins lived in Portland.
Oregon State Police has not indicated whether impairment, lighting conditions, or speed played a role in the initial impact, and the agency's reconstruction findings could shape whether additional charges are pursued against any of the drivers involved. Investigators have not released further details on the status of that review.
This is not the first fatal Highway 101 crash Hoodline has covered in Lincoln County; last year, the outlet reported on a fatal crash near Seal Rock that similarly closed the highway for hours. The corridor has also seen other major incidents this year, including an August law enforcement pursuit that ended in gunfire near South Beach.
