Pedestrians hit and killed in Salem, Hillsboro

By KATU News and KATU.com Staff Published: Feb 26, 2013 at 12:39 AM PDT Last Updated: Apr 26, 2013 at 1:46 PM PDT

UPDATE: Police identified the man who died in Salem as 48-year-old Richard Russell Dunsmore. They say he was a transient.

SALEM, Ore. – Investigators spent most of Monday evening collecting evidence on Lancaster Drive NE between Wolverine and Beverly after a minivan hit a man who was apparently lying in the street, Salem police said.

Police said the man, who was between 40 and 50 years old, was hit shortly after 7 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The unidentified man was wearing dark clothing and was lying in the roadway in a dark area of the street, police said.

They said the driver was not speeding and was not under the influence and stayed at the scene. An investigation into the man's death is under way.

Another man was killed in Hillsboro while crossing the Tualatin Valley Highway near Minter Bridge Road on Monday.

Police said the victim was wearing dark clothing and was not in a crosswalk. They also said the driver may have been speeding but did stay at the scene. That incident is also under investigation.

Anyone who may have seen the crash in Salem is encouraged to call Salem police at 503-588-6171.

13 comments

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john

when will people understand, if you walk in front of a moving car, even if you are in the crosswalk, you can be hit and even killed!Â think people!

Icarus

Another crazy cyclist killing innocent pedestrians....oh wait, that was a car that killed another pedestrian; that's rare.

FreedomRocks

Why is it so many people think drivers will always see them let alone not hit them. Whenever I cross the road I act as if I fully expect every driver on the road to go out of their way to hit me.

Â I have almost hit 4-5 people over the years all at night wearing dark clothing and I can only guess that they were expecting that I had the night vision of a cougar and the reflexes of one as well...

@FreedomRocksÂ Â

Maybe it's because of all the safety equipment and lights and stuff...you know all the stuff that bikes don't have that leads to all the innocent pedestrians that are daily mowed down by negligent cyclists.

wondering

Goodness, what ARE your Oregonians eating?Â Smoking?Â Drinking?Â Are ya all blind?

DJK

@wondering Yep! Especially to those wearing dark clothing at night walking in the middle of the road.

@DJK

There is absolutely no evidence suggesting that one needs to be in the middle of the road to be run down by a motorist, in fact, just last week there was a building and a tree that were mowed down and they never went near the middle of the road.