Henderson’s bike was found in the bike lane on this section of SW Alder just east of 3rd Ave.
40-year-old Johnathan Henderson moved to Portland four years ago and spent most of his time riding his beloved singlespeed “fixie” on downtown streets — filling one delivery order after another. Around 9:30 pm on March 12th, he was involved in a collision with the driver of a Land Rover SUV near the intersection of Southwest Alder and 3rd. The impact with the SUV knocked Henderson to the ground and he was taken to the hospital in a coma. He died on March 18th at 3:02 pm.
Police have yet to release an update about the death or details of the crash (their initial statement is here), but BikePortland has learned that Henderson’s bike came to rest in the bike lane on Alder just east of the SW 3rd. The SUV was stopped in the left-most lane. This section of Alder is known to be stressful because it’s a de facto on-ramp to I-5 via the Morrison Bridge. SW 3rd is one-way southbound and Alder is one-way eastbound.
While police continue their investigation, Henderson’s family and friends are reeling at their loss. His family — who he hadn’t seen for many years — arrived from out of state to be around his bed at the hospital. His close friend and neighbor, Filly, is managing Henderson’s belongings and memorial details.
“He was really my big brother,” Filly shared with me in a phone call a few minutes ago, struggling to speak through the sadness.