Driver and passenger killed in a car crash while evading police during Portland street takeover

PORTLAND, OR - Authorities with the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) have reportedly identified the two men killed in a crash while allegedly evading police during a Portland street takeover that in the previous year was dangerously violent.

According to KATU, the deceased men have been identified as 22-year-old Malcom T. Braman and 36-year-old Nicholas P. McGuire. Braman was driving the car and McGuire was in the passenger seat. On Friday, August 2nd, a multi-agency effort between PPB, Gresham Police Department (GPD), and others was launched to help combat the planned street racing takeover event. The event is called the West Coast Invitational and in the previous year resulted in multiple crashes, deaths, and property damage.

In the days leading up to the huge street racing takeover event, PPB warned the public to be careful. The year before the event had nearly a thousand people attending. Lt. Chadd Stensgaard with PPB said in a statement, "To kind of give you an idea how [the event] went, there was a homicide, two shootings, a fatal car crash, and disruption to many emergency services, including fire and EMS." 

He said that these types of events bring people with guns and young, inexperienced drivers with high-powered cars. He added, "The people that participate are doing it for social media likes." The risks with these types of events is why PPB teamed up with the other agencies. Erica Nilsen, the assistant chief for the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) said, "The Vancouver Police Department will have extra patrols out over the weekend. We will be writing citations. We will be arresting people."

During this year's event, police made over 140 traffic stops, interrupted multiple high-speed races and intersection takeovers, wrote 34 citations, towed 21 vehicles, and arrested 22 people. PPB said numbers are expected to increase in the following days. 

On the night of August 2nd, two GPD officers assisting with the street mission reported seeing a vehicle speeding near Northeast 122nd Avenue and Hancock Street just before midnight. The officers attempted to pull the vehicle over, but it refused to stop. Officers began a traffic pursuit and shortly after, the driver crashed into a utility pole causing the car to roll over.

The two men in the car, now identified as Braman and McGuire, were declared dead at the scene. A third person involved in the crash was taken to a nearby hospital. As of this writing, their condition has not been released. 

Leading up to the street racing takeover, Travis Goldberg, chief of police for GPD said, "We plan on participating at a minimum tomorrow night and throughout the weekend as much as possible." Police were tight-lipped about where they expected the street takeover to happen. Reporters with KATU went to areas notorious for street takeovers, like Holladay Park in the Lloyd District, to find out more about the impact of these street racing events on those in the community.

Kristen Leiber, the executive director of the sustainability non-profit Lloyd EcoDistrict said, "I think it makes people feel generally pretty unsafe to bike or walk late at night. She said that her organization has made progress in adding protective measures to the area, adding, "We got street planners, put a concrete structure in between the bike lane to prevent people from using the full width of the street with their cars. So that's kind of a homegrown solution that we've done with PBOT."

Police are still actively investigating the car accident as well as any other incidents that may have happened during the street racing takeover. Anyone with any information is encouraged to contact crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov. Reference Gresham Police case number is PG24-32111 and Portland Police case number is PP24-193803.