Portland firefighters rushed to Northeast Portland early Friday after reports that a pedestrian had been struck by a MAX train near NE 8th and NE Division. Engine 23 arrived on scene to the reported collision, according to the fire bureau, though the condition of the person involved and the full circumstances of what happened were not immediately known.
The response was confirmed in a post from Portland Fire & Rescue
, which said, “Engine 23 has arrived to reports of a pedestrian struck by a MAX train near NE 8th and NE Division.” The agency, which protects life, property, and the environment across Portland, Oregon, did not release further details in the initial post, and no follow-up statement on the pedestrian's condition or the outcome of the incident has been issued.
A Stretch of Track With a Troubled Recent History
The intersection of Southeast 8th Avenue and Division Street, just south of where Friday's incident occurred, was the site of a fatal MAX collision in 2025. A bicyclist died after being struck by a train there on June 18, 2025, according to KOIN. TriMet told the station the crash happened at about 1:37 p.m. when a person on a bicycle entered the rail crossing and was fatally struck, which disrupted Orange Line service and prompted shuttle buses for riders.
Other MAX corridors around the city have seen similar tragedies in recent years. A man died after a northbound MAX train struck him near the North Killingsworth Street station on Nov. 1, 2024, as oregonlive.com reported at the time. That crash, which happened around 6:30 a.m., led to delays on Yellow and Orange Line trains and prompted TriMet to run shuttle buses between the North Prescott Street and North Lombard Transit Center stations.
More Collisions Reported Across the System This Year
Just months before Friday's incident, a MAX train struck and injured a pedestrian in Old Town at Northwest Glisan Street and Fifth Avenue on April 29, 2026, the same outlet reported. TriMet said the person walked in front of a Green Line train and was taken to the hospital by ambulance, and MAX light rail service was temporarily disrupted following that collision.
In another case, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Transit Police Division investigated a deadly crash on Nov. 12, 2024, after a person was struck by a MAX Blue Line train on East Burnside Street at Southeast 141st Avenue around 2:15 p.m. Investigators with the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said the person had walked onto the tracks in front of an eastbound train.
Collisions involving MAX trains have remained a persistent concern for the transit agency. A TriMet quarterly performance report noted that MAX averaged 1.8 collisions per 100,000 service miles, an increase of 0.6% from the prior year, while oregonlive.com separately reported that five people died after being struck by or colliding with TriMet buses or MAX trains in 2023, which it described as the deadliest year for the agency since 2014.
No additional details have been released about Friday's incident near NE 8th and NE Division, including the pedestrian's condition, whether MAX service was affected, or the specific train line involved. Hoodline will update this story as more information becomes available.
