Hit-and-run accident spurs site review 

Published 5:58 pm Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Safety measures considered for Irving Avenue

In the weeks after a tragic hit-and-run accident in Astoria, there have been calls for city leaders to address safety issues along a tricky and dangerous stretch of Irving Avenue.

On Tuesday, the Astoria Planning Commission, acting as the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, promised to follow up with city staff on ways to ease problem areas on the road. 

Some of the suggestions they considered included: installing mirrors at intersections where — because of the steep grade of the hill — it is difficult for motorists to see each other as they turn onto or off of Irving; installing flashing lights that people can activate at crosswalks; and traffic calming measures to slow motorists down as the road winds east toward the Cathedral Tree trailhead and Astoria’s Uppertown neighborhood. 

Public Works Director Jeff Harrington said that after any traffic crash, especially one involving a pedestrian, city engineering staff conduct a site review to look at changes they should make to signage or other aspects of a road. That review is still underway for the Irving Avenue incident.  

For Committee Member Mike Francis, the issue was personal. He was friends with Patricia Harrison, the 77-year-old woman who was struck and killed near 16th Street and Irving Avenue on June 1. 

Francis said Irving Avenue has long had a bad reputation. 

“I know people whose kids aren’t allowed to cross the street. I’ve given rides to people who say they’re afraid to go that way,” he said. “I mean, we know this, and I appreciate that the city’s done a lot of studies and I just think our bias needs to be toward real action this time.”

In the days after Harrison was hit, a petition circulated online calling for enhanced pedestrian and motorist safety measures on Irving Avenue. As of this week it has gained more than 400 signatures. Astoria City Councilors have also heard from constituents, asking them to do something about Irving. 

Harrington said the city has documented an average speed through that area of 22 miles per hour. While people do speed, they are outliers, he said. In the past, the city has taken steps to try to make the area safer for pedestrians and motorists, but there are challenges when it comes to additional measures like speed bumps and ongoing visibility issues created by the steep hill.

Harrington added that almost all of the fatal traffic accidents they see in Clatsop and Tillamook counties are tied to drug and alcohol use. 

Earlier on Tuesday, Astoria Police conducted a crosswalk enforcement event with several officers acting as decoy pedestrians, attempting to cross streets at three different locations in Astoria, including 16th and Irving, while other Astoria officers and Oregon State Police troopers watched from patrol cars. They made 47 stops and issued 17 citations. 

At 16th and Irving, there was one arrest for driving under the influence of intoxicants. The person arrested was one of Harrison’s neighbors and had known her. 

The investigation into the circumstances around Harrison’s death is ongoing. 

On June 1, Harrison was walking near the 16th Street and Irving Avenue intersection when she was allegedly struck by a van driven by 50-year-old Astoria resident Michael Munson Smith. 

According to witnesses, Smith continued driving. Police say he ran a stop sign at 17th and Irving and struck a second vehicle. He allegedly fled that scene as well. Police found Smith near 18th Street and Jerome Avenue and arrested him.

According to Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly, a blood draw taken at a hospital soon after revealed a blood alcohol content of 0.35%, well over the legal limit of 0.08%. 

Smith, a former law enforcement officer with the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office, remains in custody at the Clatsop County Jail and faces multiple charges including second degree manslaughter and driving under the influence of intoxicants. 

On Tuesday, Kelly provided additional details about the incident. 

He said that evidence shows the driver who hit Harrison was going a minimum of 35 to 45 miles per hour and, according to witness statements, drove straight through the stop sign at 16th and Irving, never applying the brakes.

Kelly said that when an Astoria police officer found Smith, he was passed out in the driver’s seat. Smith woke up and attempted to drive off, but his van was too damaged. Police saw a gun visible through the window and later found multiple firearms in the van, including an AR-15 rifle and a shotgun as well as a pistol in Smith’s jacket pocket.

A drug screening of Smith is still pending, but Kelly said Smith was allegedly in the presence of a known meth user earlier that day and has a previous history of drugs. Kelly expects the report will show other substances besides alcohol were at play that day. 

“This was a horrible incident,” Kelly said, “and there’s only one thing that could have prevented this and that was him choosing not to get behind the wheel that day.”