Fatal Pedestrian Accident on Highway 224

Date: December 25, 2010
Location: Barton, OR
Names: Chun Cha Shim, Jason Nelson

Chun Cha Shim, age 61, died on Friday December 24 after being struck by a vehicle while she was walking on Highway 224.

According to Oregon State Police Sergeant Walt Anderson, Shim of Gresham parked her vehicle in the Barton store parking lot in Clackamas County at about 5:40pm on December 24. She got out of her car, left the engine running, and reportedly was talking on her cell phone with someone to get directions to where she was going to visit. She walked north onto Highway 224 in the darkness and was hit by a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban traveling west with four occupants.

Shim was pronounced deceased at the scene of the Portland pedestrian accident.

The driver of the Suburban, Jason Nelson, age 40 of Eagle Creek, was not injured. The other three occupants were an adult female and two minors.

Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers from the Portland Area Command office are continuing the investigation.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Chun Cha Shim as they live on through this holiday season tragedy. We hope that everyone involved in this tragic accident receives the support they will need to recover.

The law bends in favor of pedestrians in many instances, however, just like everything in the law, there are exceptions. If the pedestrian was wearing dark clothes, and it was dark, the driver can sometimes escape prosecution. Or if a pedestrian darts out unexpectedly into an intersection, the law may take the driver’s side too. In this case, witnesses say that it was already dark when Ms. Shim was talking on her cell phone while walking on a busy highway.

But in most cases, the law will consider it to be the driver’s fault, and the pedestrian or the pedestrian’s family will be able to get legal compensation. All cases are different, of course, so contact a knowledgeable Portland personal injury lawyer if you have any questions about your case.