The homeless camp on SE Belmont where Bentley was hit. (Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
A friend of David “Dino” Bentley, the man killed in a violent vehicular rampage on Southeast Belmont Street on February 25th, says the incident was the result of a disagreement between the driver and people who lived at a street encampment. According to a BikePortland commenter who says they once lived at the camp where Bentley was killed, the driver, 22-year-old Shane McKeever, wanted fentanyl and became aggressive when he couldn’t get it.
Someone named Belynda Wagner wrote a comment on our story about the crash Monday night sharing details of what she believes happened in those early hours of Sunday morning prior to McKeever running down Bentley and driving his car into the well-established encampment on SE Belmont between Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and Grand Ave.
Wagner’s comment is a window into what might have happened that morning, the brutal nature of street life, and Portland’s ongoing struggle to take care of people who live here.
Read her comment below (edited for clarity):
“It would have happened no matter what. That boy wasn’t out to kill David. He was after my son “Grumpy.” The kid [driver] is a psychopath. I myself have camped in the same place. In fact it was me that moved the fence back to make a community dog space that was safe. Or safer… No matter where we go, people take our belongings, shoot at our camps, pick fights with us when they’re drunk or high, burn down our camps and our tents, hook our tents up to the back of pick-up trucks and drag them….you name it. I got hit by a car on the job as a flagger. It ruined my life. I don’t make enough money now to rent a tea cup. Let alone a house or apartment. And I’m native to portland. Born at ohsu in 1980 at 11:59 pm on April the 16. I’ve lived here my whole life.
David (red shirt) in an undated family photo. (Courtesy Let Me Go On / Facebook)
I’ve seen this big city turn into a big city. It used to be just a small town in the middle of no place special. It was once a place you could leave your cars unlocked, your house open, let your kids run free, and it was so safe. I miss Portland as it used to be. Listen folks. You can all sit here and call it a “homeless problem” or whatever. But the truth of the matter is that it’s a mental health problem. Yes the boy [the driver/suspect] was there 10 mins before he got in that stolen car and ran over David. He was there fist-fighting in the street. Hand-to-hand combat with my son [not by blood, Wagner calls herself a “street mom”] . The boy was there trying to score some fentanyl. Wrong camp everyone there told him. ‘We won’t help you kill yourself,’ is what he heard. No one here does that crap nor will anyone here help you acquire it. We are 100% against it. The boy didn’t like that response. He wanted to get verbally disrespectful. He was asked to leave. He refused and pulled a knife on my son. My son responded by grabbing a bigger knife and said ‘Okay, if that’s how you want to play.’ The boy said, ‘no.’ And then threatened to run everyone at the camp over.
At that point David wasn’t even there. The kid left. About 1-2 mins after, the kids walks westbound on Belmont, and David had rolled up on his bike. [David] said both his backpacks and longboard had been stolen, so to keep eyes open. About a minute and-a-half after stopping, David was struck from behind.
That boy needs some serious help. It’s not a dangerous road problem, it’s not a homelessness problem, that little boy is just friggin’ mentally not okay. Not on any level. This is a mentally sick and drug-addicted child. The kid shouldn’t even be in jail. That boy needs the state mental hospital and a straight jacket.. and a whole lot of mommy hugs. That boy was fucked up early on in life. An unfit parent hurt that child and now he sits alone in county jail. Where he will unfortunately not make it out of alive… He’s marked.
The boy still needs mental help. He made a 180-degree turn and went back to run over the other people. Because it was meant to kill my son not my brother. Yes, shots were fired… 5 at the windshield. He wasn’t hit nor did anyone else die. But he did get the picture once those shots were fired. Otherwise I don’t think he would have stopped until he had killed everyone there. Those warning shots stopped that car, and he got out and ran in fear for his life. Those shots stopped 4 more people, innocent people as well, from dying. And all of this was due to that kid wanting a drug no one had or was willing to help him obtain because they do care.
Let’s keep that in mind folks. Not all of us homeless people are bad. Most of us are not. Most of us are just like the rest of the community. Normal. Just normal without enough income to be normal inside. Let’s get this boy some help.
David just rolled up this time at the wrong time. And it all happened so fast in such a short window of time there wasn’t even anyway of knowing that he intended on making good on his threat.
Leave the camp alone. Leave the road alone. Stop putting it on being a homelessness problem.
Face the facts that are in your faces: Decriminalization of drugs was stupid. This is the unfortunate results of idiots in an office not thinking clearly and creating a country-wide disaster. Portland voters are ultimately responsible for this shit in the end. But just continue to turn a blind cheek to the harsh reality and truth. Keep on voting without thinking. Clearly it’s working wonders.”
An obituary for Bentley posted to Facebook yesterday said he, “loved life and lived it vibrantly, leaving a mark on everyone he met,” and that, “he lived his life to the fullest, never losing his unique spirit. His departure has left an empty space in many hearts, and he will be profoundly missed.”
A memorial ride for Bentley will take place on Saturday, March 30th at 1:00. Meet at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The ride will cross the river and end with a vigil where Bentley last lived and BikeLoud PDX will help his friends and family install a ghost bike.
