Skip to main contentThree sources tell WW that City Commissioner Amanda Fritz's husband, Dr. Steven Fritz, passed away this morning in a multi-vehicle accident on Interstate-5 near Salem.
Dr. Fritz was a psychiatrist at the Oregon State Hospital.
Update: The Oregon State Police issued an alert at 8:13 a.m. about a fatal collision on I-5 near milepost 258 south of Portland Road in Salem.
Fritz met her husband as a young woman when she left England to work at a Salvation Army summer camp in New Jersey. He was a cook at the camp. "And we fell in love," Fritz told WW in 2005. "And instead of going to Europe the next summer, I went to New Jersey. The day after I graduated, I emigrated to the United States."
The couple moved to Portland in 1986.
He is survived by three children. Amanda Fritz's campaign website has more information about her late-husband.
Update at 10:38 a.m.: The office of Portland Mayor Charlie Hales confirmed Steven Fritz's death in a press release. Today's City Council meeting has been cancelled, the release read. "We ask for privacy for the family and staff as they work through this difficult time," it continued.
Update at 11:55 a.m.: The Oregon State Hospital issued a statement from Superintendent Greg Roberts.
"We are heartbroken by this news," the statement read. "This is a great loss for patients, staff, and the mental health community, and we will dearly miss our co-worker and friend.
Dr. Fritz has been with the state working to help people with mental illness for more for more than 27 years. He was a gifted psychiatrist, respected and beloved by both his colleagues and his patients. During his tenure, he was a leader at Oregon State Hospital. He served as supervising physician and interim chief medical officer. He was also the President of the local 3227, Council 75 AFSCME Physicians union. However, his first love and passion was working with patients and his unwavering belief that people can recover and live life to the fullest. He had an immense and lasting effect at the Oregon State Hospital and in the lives of patients and staff.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."
Update at 6:38 pm: Amanda Fritz made a brief comment on Twitter this afternoon.
"Thanks to all helping with my loss of the great Steve Fritz," she writes. "No flowers
or cards, please — his kids and I will announce charity choices soon.
"First assessment from crash site was that NB pickup crossed the centerline on I-5 and hit the SB Zentra head on," she continues. "Wet roads likely a factor."
"Zentra" was the name of Steven Fritz's distinctive zebra-striped Nissan Sentra.
WWeek 2015