Vancouver truck driver, 53, arrested in fatal hit-and-run in Portland

A Vancouver truck driver was arrested Wednesday in the hit-and-run death of a young woman in Northeast Portland that occurred the morning of Oct. 4.

Bruce Allen Smith, 53, was taken to the Multnomah County Jail after being indicted by a grand jury for alleged failure to perform the duties of a driver. The charge is a Class B felony because the woman he hit died, according to a bulletin from the Portland Police Bureau.

The victim was Abaynesh Awokie, 21, of Portland, who was hit by a tractor-trailer rig at 82nd Way and Alderwood Road. She had been walking from a nearby MAX station to her job. The driver didn’t stop, police said.

On the same day she was hit, the Traffic Division had identified Smith and the tractor-trailer he drove, the bulletin said.

Portland police then worked more than 100 hours to investigate, and the case later was presented to the grand jury, which indicted Smith.

Police said Smith has cooperated with the investigation, as has the trucking company, Main Carriers Inc., which works for the U.S. Postal Service.