Driver charged with assault after aggression while driving on Sunset Highway

Authorities have charged Beaverton man David J. Bumgardner with aggravated assault after he allegedly drove his Subaru into a Vancouver man’s motorcycle Wednesday afternoon.

According to police, both the car and motorcycle were traveling eastbound on U.S. 26, the Sunset Highway, at the Southwest Sylvan Road overpass around 3 p.m. when the motorcyclist, 47-year-old Tha Ouk, “lane-changed” – driving between lanes when car traffic was stopped or moving slowly. This is illegal in Oregon.

According to police, Bumgardner, 60, pulled onto the shoulder and pursued Ouk on the highway. Authorities said the motorcyclist stopped at a lighted traffic sign on the shoulder and Bumgardner was unable to stop and collided with Ouk’s Yamaha motorcycle west of the Oregon Zoo exit.

The Subaru rolled on top of Ouk’s body, police said. Passing motorists rescued the biker by lifting the vehicle high enough to free him. An ambulance took Ouk to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Bumgardner, who reported no injuries, is charged with third-degree assault, reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person.

Police charged Ouk with driving without insurance, reckless driving, failure to stay in lane, driving without a motorcycle license and failure to register his motorcycle.

— Mike Rogoway covers technology and Oregon’s economy. Reach him at [email protected].

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