Family of young mother killed in street race files $15 million lawsuit

Police identified 26-year-old Ashlee McGill as the woman who died after being struck by a race car on SE Stark. September 2, 2022 (KOIN).

PORTLAND, Oregon (KOIN) — The family of a young mother who killed in a street race while waiting at a bus stop in 2022, the city of Portland and several other agencies are suing for $15 million, arguing that her death could have been prevented.

On August 27, 2022, according to court documents, Jonathan Peña, Kenneth Freeman and a “John Doe” participated in a high-speed street race early in the morning. Peña and Freeman reportedly lost control of their vehicles, striking and killing Peña’s Mustang 26-year-old Ashlee McGill at Southeast Stark Street and Southeast 133rd Avenue. Peña’s vehicle also struck another racer’s vehicle before hitting a tree.

In September 2023, Freeman pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to five years in prison. In May 2024, Peña pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person, and reckless driving and was sentenced to three years in prison.

On Wednesday, McGill’s mother, Mistegay Nicholson, filed suit against the city, PBOT, PPB, TriMet, ODOT, Multnomah County, Peña, Freeman and several other private citizens allegedly involved in the incident.

The lawsuit alleges that Southeast Stark Street was designated by PBOT as an accident-prone zone “at all times prior to the accident” and also as an area frequently used by racers. In addition, the lawsuit argues that the defendants swerved in the middle of the race to avoid a raised curb-level median in the middle of the road because there were “no visual cues and warnings” of the accident in the area where it occurred, causing McGill’s death.

The lawsuit also states that the bus stop where McGill was waiting “was significantly obscured from the eastbound side of traffic by a telephone pole, trash can, fire hydrant and other signage.”

The lawsuit alleges negligence on the part of the City of Portland and the Portland Police Bureau because the dissolution of the traffic enforcement unit in 2021 resulted in increased traffic hazards, meaning “it was foreseeable that injuries and deaths to pedestrians like Ashlee McGill would occur.”

Based on these factors, McGill’s family is seeking at least $15,000,000 in total damages from all defendants for negligence, recklessness and wrongful death.

KOIN 6 News reached out to PBOT, PPB, TriMet, ODOT and Multnomah County, who declined to comment.

KOIN 6 has also reached out to Peña and Freeman’s lawyers and has not yet received a response.