Tigard officer who survived motorcycle crash that sent him airborne shares safety message

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A Tigard police officer is back to work with a strong message on safety after he survived a harrowing crash.

Officer Travis Gregston was responding to a call on his motorcycle when a driver failed to stop, sending him hurling through the air. All of it was caught on video.

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On March 12, Gregston got on his motorcycle to respond to the call. He can be seen in the video approaching Southwest Hall Boulevard and Hunkizer Road. A driver in a Chevrolet Tahoe failed to stop.  The driver told police she could hear the siren but didn’t see the officer.

“I wish she would have taken that extra second to see where it was coming from,” Gregston said. “I hit my head so hard on the side of the car that I could taste like a kind of a copper taste in my mouth and when I watched that video for the first time, I could taste that copper taste.”

Gregston said drivers failing to stop or pull over for emergency responders can be a serious problem. He advised that if a person can’t pull over, they should just stay put and so the emergency responders can drive around.

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Gregston’s injuries were mostly on the right side of his body, primarily his knee. However, he said he’s all ready now to get back on the bike.

The driver was given a citation for driving without insurance but not for the crash. Gregston said if it was him arriving on the scene, he probably would have issued a ticket to send a message.

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