A Scooter Rider Hit a Bicyclist Downtown on Saturday in a Crash Unrelated to the Day’s Protests

The Portland Police Bureau “determined that the incident was unrelated to the demonstration.”

Portland protest, Aug. 17, 2019 (Wesley Lapointe)

On Saturday afternoon at around 5:30 pm, an e-scooter rider traveling the wrong way on a one-way street in downtown Portland collided with a bicyclist.

The crash occurred at Southwest Broadway and Yamhill Street amid the aftermath of dueling waterfront protests by right-wing group the Proud Boys and their antifascist adversaries. By 5:30 pm, most of the protesters had left downtown, but a few were still engaged in skirmishes and standoffs with riot police.

Related: Proud Boys Wander Lost Through Portland as Police Allow Wild Goose Chase by Antifascists

In a statement, the Portland Police Bureau "determined that the incident was unrelated to the demonstration."

That's a rebuttal of social media accounts claiming that the cyclist was injured while swerving to avoid an antifascist protester. Viral tweets and videos from conservative media have exaggerated the scale of violence in the city Saturday, as The Oregonian reported Sunday.

The scooter rider hit the cyclist in the intersection of Southwest Broadway and Yamhill Street. The bicyclist was wearing a helmet, and was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The scooter operator was not wearing a helmet and was charged with a traffic violation for the unlawful operation of a motor-assisted scooter.

Update, Aug. 20, 4:15 pm: Video of the crash captured by KGW shows that there were no protests taking place in the area were the collision took place. While the scooter rider is traveling near a crowd of leftists on the sidewalk, it is unclear whether the rider had been taking place in the day's protests or what their political affiliations are.

Lieutenant Tina Jones tells WW PPB "stands by" its statement that the crash was unrelated to the day's demonstrations. "We do not have further information to release on this matter at this time," Jones says.

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