4 injured after eluding suspects hit police SUV in SE Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Several police officers responded to a crash in Southeast Portland early Friday morning.

According to police, a sedan that was suspected to be involved in a reported burglary at a book store on Powell Boulevard eluded officers after a traffic stop just before 3 a.m.

While fleeing, police said the sedan hit a patrol SUV, injuring two officers and the two suspects in the sedan, which police added was reported stolen out of a Southeast Portland driveway on Thursday.

Both officers were treated at a hospital and released, officials said.

The suspects, identified only as a man and a woman, were also injured in the crash. The man, whom police say was driving the car, has life-threatening injuries, while the woman, who was a passenger, was seriously hurt but does not have life-threatening injuries.

The crash, which happened near Southeast 112th Avenue and Southeast Holgate Boulevard, closed the roads until just before 9:30 a.m. Friday.

“This was a terrible crash, and I’m grateful that the officers involved were not hurt worse,” Portland Police Bureau Chief Chuck Lovell said in a statement.

The investigation into the crash is ongoing.