A box truck emblazoned with the Takis chip logo allegedly ran a red light at Southeast 148th Avenue and Division in Portland, setting off a chain-reaction crash before the driver took off — then allegedly ran another red light miles away before stumbling into traffic. The man behind the wheel, identified in court records as Luis Jimenez-Francisco, later tested at 0.17% blood-alcohol content, more than twice Oregon's legal limit.
A Chain Reaction at Division Street
According to a probable cause affidavit described by OregonLive, the truck struck a car stopped at the intersection, which was then pushed into the vehicle ahead of it, triggering a chain reaction that involved a total of four cars. The crash totaled one car worth $17,000 and caused $500 in damage to another, court records allege. A driver two cars away from the vehicle Jimenez-Francisco allegedly hit told police the following day that she was still dealing with ongoing back pain from the impact.
Not every outlet describes the scope of the crash the same way. KOIN reported that Jimenez-Francisco drove the Takis truck into six other vehicles, while the account of four cars in a chain reaction comes from the same court filings reviewed by the other outlet. The underlying court records have not resolved that discrepancy publicly.
Fleeing, Then Fleeing Again
Court records allege Jimenez-Francisco drove away from the crash scene rather than stopping. A bystander later spotted him and the damaged truck erratically swerving in traffic and running a red light at Southeast 162nd and Main Street, per the same account. After allegedly blowing through that second red light, he turned in front of two cars, stopped the truck, and then stumbled out into traffic.
Once he was out of the vehicle, the station's report says he consented to a breath test that returned the 0.17% reading. In Oregon, the legal limit for driving is 0.08% blood-alcohol content, a threshold set in Oregon Revised Statutes 813.010, which defines the DUII offense as driving with 0.08 percent or more alcohol in the blood as shown by chemical testing, according to the Oregon Legislature.
Charges and the Bigger Picture
Jimenez-Francisco is accused of fourth-degree assault, reckless driving, criminal mischief, failure to perform the duties of a driver after property damage, and driving under the influence of intoxicants, according to the court records cited by the oregonlive.com report. The case adds to a sobering statewide pattern: in 2023, 200 people died in Oregon crashes involving a drunk driver, about 34% of all traffic fatalities that year, according to the Oregon Health Authority, as reported by KTVZ. The same report notes that about 16% of Oregon adults report binge or heavy drinking.
The Southeast Portland crash is the latest reminder of how quickly an ordinary delivery run can turn into a multi-vehicle emergency. For the driver still nursing back pain a day later, and for the owner of the totaled $17,000 car, the damage from Southeast 148th and Division lingers well beyond the headlines about a chip-branded truck gone wrong.
