OSP: Texting Hwy. 30 driver hit, killed bicyclist
A Vernonia man without a valid driver’s license was texting on his cellphone when his pickup traveled onto the shoulder of Highway 30 just west of Rainier and struck a 74-year-old bicyclist from St. Helens, Oregon State Police said Sunday. The driver continued on for five miles, until he was stopped and arrested by OSP.
OSP said it is investigating the hit-and-run crash with the assistance of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and Rainier Police Department.
The report was received shortly before 3 p.m. of the crash on the westbound lanes of Highway 30 near milepost 50. Kristopher Lee Woodruff’s pickup was stopped about five miles down the road.
First responders on scene confirmed the cyclist, Peter Michael Linden, had died at the scene, troopers said. He was wearing a helmet, they added.
Woodruff, 34, showed investigators a North Dakota identification card showing a Minot address. He was lodged in the Columbia County Jail on charges of first-degree manslaughter, felony hit and run, and a misdemeanor warrant out of Washington County for failure to appear in court.
Troopers said their initial investigation indicates Woodruff was driving westbound and became distracted while looking at a text message on his phone. His pickup traveled onto the shoulder, where it struck the bicyclist. He continued driving until stopped by OSP about five miles away.
The Columbia County District Attorney’s Office was notified and is assisting with the investigation.
KGW reported that court records show Woodruff previously was cited for driving without a valid driver’s license and driving uninsured in 2001.
Linden’s wife, Elie, told KGW that Peter had been diagnosed with cancer three years ago. Even through chemotherapy treatments, he rode his bike 50 miles a day, three days a week. He was in the middle of a regular 50-mile bike ride when he was killed.
Elie Linden said she forgives Woodruff, but she’d been with Peter through every step of his cancer treatments and is upset that he had to die alone.
