Tow truck driver injured in hit-and-run crash on I-84

PORTLAND, Ore. (KGW) — Police are investigating a hit-and-run involving a tow truck driver in Northeast Portland early Sunday morning.

Officers responded around 6:47 a.m. to a crash involving a tow truck vehicle and another tow truck driver on westbound I-84 between the Northeast 43rd Avenue exit and the overpass at Northeast Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard.

Police found the tow truck driver injured and laying on the pavement near his truck when they arrived at the scene.

The tow truck driver, 27-year-old Arthur Walker, was taken to the hospital. Walker sustained a broken arm and a broken leg.

“It’s not every day someone in my industry gets half as lucky as I did,” Walker said.

The driver’s side of the victim’s tow truck was sideswiped and damaged with a broken side mirror on the right shoulder of westbound Banfield Freeway.

Walker and his colleagues are using this opportunity to remind all drivers of the importance of Oregon’s Move Over Law. It requires people to move over a lane if they see emergency vehicles, including tow trucks.

“We don’t want to bury our own,” Northwestern Towing operations manager James Jerome said. “We don’t want to bury anyone. We want to continue going home and doing what we do.”

The suspect in this case continued driving and has not been located, according to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB).

The suspect was allegedly driving a Ford tow truck with a wheel lift mechanism on the back. Police did not provide details on the colors of the truck.

“I’d greatly appreciate this person being caught,” Walker said.

Officers are asking for the public’s help in locating the driver who fled the scene. They ask that you contact them if you saw anything or have video or information that might help investigators. 

Please contact [email protected], attention traffic investigations unit and reference case number 23-26728.

 

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