In the late evening hours of Sunday June 25, 2017, the Portland Police Bureau's Traffic Division conducted a mission aimed at the street racers that congregate on Marine Drive and perform illegal races and other stunts out in public.
The purpose of this enforcement effort was to reduce and eventually eliminate the dangerous driving that has contributed to several traffic deaths over the past two years:
* On December 4, 2015, 65-year-old Linda Johnston was killed when two motorcycle riders engaged in a race crashed into her car at Southeast 160th Avenue and Stark Street. Both riders were arrested and sentenced to prison.
* On January 23, 2016, 20-year-old Nick Alexandar Chernyavskiy died after crashing his motorcycle while racing another motorcycle rider on Northeast Airport Way near 145th Avenue.
* On March 6, 2016, 26-year-old Alexander Keppinger was critically injured in a crash on Northeast Glisan Street near 139th Avenue involving two drivers racing. Keppinger died a few weeks later.
* On April 21, 2017, 19-year-old Daniel Kharlamov died after a high-speed crash on Southeast Powell Boulevard near 37th Avenue.
On Sunday night, officers in the area of North Marine Drive and Ledbetter Street witnessed individuals racing and driving recklessly. Officers came into the area and were able to stop several drivers and issue a total of nine citations covering 27 different charges. Two drivers were arrested on 15 separate charges.
A motorcycle rider sped away from officers, crashed, and ran away on foot. That driver was not located.
The two drivers arrested were:
* 18-year-old Paul Paliy was booked into the Multnomah County Jail on charges of Reckless Driving (three counts) and Recklessly Endangering Another Person (three counts). Paliy's 2012 Subaru Impreza WRX was towed from the scene.
* 24-year-old Petro Hurzhuy was booked into the Multnomah County Jail on charges of Reckless Driving (three counts) and Recklessly Endangering Another Person (five counts). Hurzhuy's 2011 BMW M3 Convertible was towed from the scene.
The Traffic Division will be conducting future enforcement missions as staffing allows.