Divers recovered two bodies from the Willamette River near downtown Portland on Monday after a car carrying four people went off the waterfront and into the water during an early morning police chase.

According to Portland police, the vehicle was traveling the wrong way at high speed on downtown streets around 2 a.m. An officer attempted to stop the car, but the driver fled along Southwest Harvey Milk Street, then onto Southwest Naito Parkway. The vehicle crossed the waterfront park, broke through a guardrail, and entered the river.

Two people were confirmed dead, one remains missing and is presumed dead, and one person survived with minor injuries, Oregon Live reported.

The incident has raised serious questions about the dangers of high-speed pursuits in urban areas and the devastating consequences that can follow when drivers attempt to evade law enforcement. While the full circumstances remain under investigation, the tragedy underscores the life-and-death stakes involved in split-second decisions made by both officers and fleeing suspects.

A Desperate Flight Through Downtown Portland Streets

According to Portland police, the sequence of events began at approximately 2 a.m. Monday, an officer spotted a car driving the wrong way on downtown Portland streets at a high rate of speed. When the officer activated their lights to initiate a traffic stop, the driver did not pull over. Instead, the car sped away.

Police said the fleeing vehicle traveled down Southwest Harvey Milk Street before merging onto Southwest Naito Parkway. From there, the car left the roadway entirely, driving across the grass of Tom McCall Waterfront Park before crashing through a guardrail and plummeting into the Willamette River.

Assistant Chief Brian Hughes said the responding officer arrived at the riverbank to find a broken fence and a young man swimming in the water. The survivor told officers that three other people had been inside the vehicle when it went into the river.

Divers Face Treacherous Conditions in Recovery Effort

Hughes described the situation as highly unusual. "It's not normal for a car to go off the seawall. It's very rare," he said at a Monday news conference. He called the incident a tragedy and said the bureau was offering "thoughts and prayers" to the families and friends of those involved.

The young man who escaped the submerged vehicle was transported to a local hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries. Hughes said the survivor has been cooperating with investigators. Police believe all four occupants of the car were between the ages of 17 and 20.

Divers from the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office entered the Willamette River before 10 a.m. Monday to begin their search and recovery operation. Shortly after entering the water, divers surfaced with what appeared to be a body bag. By around 10 a.m., a second body bag was brought to the surface.

Submerged Vehicle Left in the River Overnight

By 12:30 p.m. Monday, divers had returned to their boat without having lifted the car from the water. A tow truck that had been parked near police vehicles at the scene eventually drove away. Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Lt. Jason Pearce explained that although divers had located the submerged vehicle, they made the decision to leave it in the river for the time being.

Pearce described the extreme difficulty of the underwater search, noting that divers had zero visibility in 35 feet of frigid water. "A search like this is basically on your hands and knees over the size of a football field," Pearce said. He added that dive teams planned to employ sonar technology to identify additional locations to search for the third body, which has not yet been recovered.

Portland police cordoned off a section of Tom McCall Waterfront Park on Monday between the waterfront and Naito Parkway, a few hundred feet south of the Oregon Maritime Museum. Authorities have not released the names of anyone involved in the incident.

Lessons to Learn

1. Never remain in a vehicle with a driver who is engaging in reckless or illegal behavior. If you are a passenger and the driver begins fleeing from police or driving dangerously, the risk to your life increases exponentially. Whenever safely possible, urge the driver to stop or remove yourself from the situation before it escalates.

2. Understand that high-speed chases rarely end well for the people inside the fleeing vehicle. The decision to run from law enforcement puts everyone in the car — and bystanders — at extreme risk. Young people, especially, should recognize that the consequences of evading police can be fatal, as this tragedy painfully illustrates.

3. If you witness a vehicle driving erratically or the wrong way on a roadway, call 911 immediately and keep your distance. That said, it is critical to acknowledge that no matter what precautions individuals take, tragedies can still occur, and we should never place blame on the victims of such devastating incidents.

Why This Story Matters

This story matters because it highlights the catastrophic human cost that can result when a fleeing vehicle encounter spirals out of control in a densely populated urban environment. The loss of at least two young lives — with a third person still missing and presumed dead — serves as a sobering reminder to the Portland community and beyond about the lethal dangers of reckless driving and police evasion. It also raises important questions about pursuit policies, waterfront safety infrastructure, and how communities can better protect young people from making irreversible decisions.

In summary, a car carrying four young people between the ages of 17 and 20 fled from a Portland police officer early Monday morning after being spotted driving the wrong way on downtown streets, ultimately crashing through a guardrail at Tom McCall Waterfront Park and plunging into the Willamette River. Divers from the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office recovered two bodies from the frigid, murky water later that day, while one person remains missing and presumed dead, and a lone survivor — a young man who swam to safety — was treated for minor injuries and is cooperating with investigators. Authorities have not released the identities of those involved, and the submerged vehicle remains in 35 feet of water as dive teams plan to use sonar to continue their search.