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A Portland woman was killed crossing Southeast Foster Road last night. Her death is the 26th traffic-related fatality of the year.
Louanna Battams, 82, was crossing the street at the intersection of Foster and Southeast 71st Avenue last night when she was hit by a car. Officers responded to the scene at around 8:20 pm and medics took Battams to the hospital. This morning, Battams died from her injuries.
The driver of the car stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators. They were eventually released from the scene.
This is the third fatality on Portland's roads in the last 24 hours. Two people died in a rollover crash on Interstate 405 last night.
As The Oregonian first reported, Battams' death comes one day after Transportation Commissioner Chloe Eudaly celebrated the completion of a road safety project on Southeast Foster Road.
It also underscores dangers on outer Portland streets for pedestrians. It's been two months since a six-year-old girl was hit by a driver who sped through a crosswalk at Southeast 107th and Southeast Division Street. She suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Related: A Driver Sped Through a Portland Bike Lane and Hit a Six-Year-Old Girl in the Crosswalk
It also follows the release of a Portland Police Bureau podcast in May, in which officers said pedestrians need to make themselves more visible to avoid being hit by cars.
In a statement today, PPB said it "is committed to providing enforcement and raising awareness regarding traffic safety for vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians."
"Traffic officers' number one priority is to address behaviors of all road users that might lead to a collision," it continued, "including speed, impairment, distraction and disobeying signals."