PORTLAND, Ore. - A grandmother loading up the trunk of her car had her legs nearly severed Saturday in a freak incident in north Portland involving a man suspected of driving under the influence.

The woman, Yvonne Smith, who is in her 40s, was taken to Oregon Health and Science University, where she was in critical but stable condition on Sunday.

According to police, Smith was standing on the side of North Chautauqua Boulevard about 5:30 p.m. next to her trunk when a red Chevrolet pickup struck the parked car behind her, sending the car forward and pinning Smith between both vehicles. Smith's legs were crushed and nearly severed, police said.

Smith, who had just come out of Columbia Pool and had been loading up her trunk, kept saying, "My legs are gone. My legs are gone," according to witnesses.

Before medics arrived, residents came to the rescue, using their belts as a tourniquet and trying to comfort her, said resident Kathleen Joy.

The driver of the pickup, 25-year-old Timothy Sauer, was also taken to OHSU for treatment. His condition was not immediately known.

Investigators believe Sauer was under the influence of a drug or prescription medication at the time of the crash, police said. Excessive speed also factored into the incident, police said.

Sauer was charged with second-degree assault, driving under the influence of intoxicants and reckless driving.

Some residents said the accident did not surprise them because of the way people typically drive along the road, which one neighbor called "Chautauqua Highway."

"It is a passageway from Columbia up to Lombard ... and there's no stop signs, there's nothing," Joy said.

"People use this as a very fast corridor," said Anya Dreher.