Since it opened in 1998, the Westside MAX train line has had its share of memorable accidents and delays.
In June, service was delayed for about an hour when the eastbound train came across a car abandoned on the tracks.
It doesn't end there. Regular service between the Tualatin Valley and downtown Portland dragged to a halt in February when a drunk driver drove his car about halfway through the 3-mile Robertson Tunnel. Riders between the Sunset Transit Center and the library downtown were put on buses after Steven Stein, 54, of Vancouver was arrested on DUII charges. According to police, Stein entered the tunnel's westbound tube from its east entrance, near Canyon Road in downtown Portland, at about 4:30 a.m., and drove it nearly to the Washington Park MAX station.
http://rosswrede.blogspot.com/2008/08/remember-this-guy.htmlIn August 2007, bicyclist Gary Buttram was apparently startled when a Westbound MAX operator tooted a warning on his horn as both left the platform at Third Avenue and Washington Street in downtown Hillsboro. Buttram cut directly in front of the westbound train and fell over just west of the platform. The driver braked immediately, and Buttram recovered from minor injuries at Tuality Community Hospital.
Prior to an adjustment of traffic light controls, there were several accidents involving MAX along Washington Street in the first seven years, most notably a collision between a train and a fire truck on Fifth Avenue, Jan. 2, 2005. A in-depth investigation determined the train driver was at fault.
In March 2007, one woman went to the hospital after her SUV was hit by an oncoming MAX train at the intersection of Southeast Washington Street and Southeast Third Avenue, just outside the Argus offices. Witnesses said it appeared she ran a red light while trying to beat the westbound MAX train, said Hillsboro Police Department Cmdr. Chris Skinner, but it's unclear if she was ever cited. Her three children in the vehicle were uninjured. The family dog fled the accident, but was later found by a citizen who turned him in to the Bonnie L. Hays Animal Shelter. The train operator, Laura Lyn Walker, 50, was unable to stop in time, crashing directly into the driver's side door. According to a Hillsboro Fire Department spokesperson, firefighters had to pry the vehicle from the train before rescuing the woman. The MAX line, Third Avenue and Washington Street, remained closed for about an hour.
In September 2006, a sport utility vehicle lost its front bumper when its driver ran a red light and collided with a MAX train at Fifth and Washington. No passengers were on the train at the time, and neither the driver of the train nor the SUV driver was injured. Police investigation determined the train had the right of way, and the driver was cited for disregarding a traffic control device.
In the first few years of MAX service, several pedestrians were hit and killed when walking illegally between the railway's crossbars or using the rails as a walkway, according to police reports.
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