A single vehicle crash on Highway 30 in the Columbia River Gorge resulted in one passenger being transported to an area hospital by helicopter. The young woman remains in the hospital in serious condition.

On Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at approximately 10:30 p.m., Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to a crash in the 44800 block of E Historic Columbia River Highway near Shepperd’s Dell. Responding deputies found the vehicle, a Hyundai sedan, 150 feet down a ravine. The driver, an 18-year-old male, sustained minor injury. One passenger, a 17-year-old female, was uninjured. A second passenger, also a 17-year-old female sustained serious injuries. Life Flight, a specially equipped medical helicopter, transported the seriously injured passenger to an area hospital, where she remains in serious condition. All three occupants of the vehicle were wearing seatbelts.

The East County Vehicular Crimes Team was activated and began investigating the crash. That investigation is ongoing. Investigators believe that excessive speed was the primary cause of the crash. The speed limit on E Historic Columbia River Highway is 40 miles per hour and the advisory speed for the curve near this crash is 20 miles per hour. Other possible contributing factors are still under investigation. 

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The East County Vehicular Crimes Team consists of specially trained law enforcement members from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, Gresham Police Department and Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office. VCT investigates serious and fatal vehicle crashes and crimes in Gresham, Fairview, Maywood Park, Troutdale, Wood Village and unincorporated Multnomah County.