Street View of the 5900 block of Portland Avenue in Tacoma, WA, near where the fatal three-vehicle crash occurred. Source: Google Maps.
KEY DETAILS
DATE & TIME
Sunday, September 20, 2026, around 11:14 p.m.
LOCATION
Portland Avenue, Tacoma, WA
VICTIM
A 28-year-old Tacoma man, Duran Tessema, was hospitalized and later died; no injuries to the occupants of the other two vehicles have been confirmed.
ROAD CLOSURES
No road closures have been reported in connection with the crash.
INVESTIGATION
The Tacoma Police Department says the crash remains under investigation, including how the other two vehicles became involved.
A 28-year-old Tacoma man died after a three-vehicle crash sent his car into a power pole with such force that the vehicle split in half. The crash happened just after 11 p.m. Sunday in the 5900 block of Portland Avenue. He was the only person from the three vehicles taken to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries. Investigators have not yet said how the other two vehicles became involved in the collision.
According to MyNorthwest.com, the victim was identified as Duran Tessema, a 2017 graduate of Mount Tahoma High School. Tacoma Police Department spokesperson Shelbie Boyd confirmed the three-vehicle collision to Hoodline, though the department said it remains unclear exactly how the other vehicles were struck. Tessema’s official cause of death is pending finalization by the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office. Portland Avenue has been flagged as a high-risk corridor under the city’s Vision Zero initiative, and the crash remains under active investigation.
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MyNorthwest.com
@MyNorthwest · Sep 21, 2026
One killed after car splits in half in violent Tacoma crash
Washington law defines negligent driving in the second degree under RCW 46.61.5249 as operating a vehicle in a manner that is negligent and endangers or is likely to endanger any person or property, where that negligence is a proximate cause of an accident. Investigators are still trying to determine how a single-vehicle impact with a power pole came to involve three vehicles, and whether negligent driving contributed to the crash. This statute is commonly cited when a driver loses control and strikes a fixed object like a utility pole.
Because the crash resulted in a death, Washington’s wrongful death statute, RCW 4.20.010, allows a personal representative to bring a claim on behalf of a deceased victim’s family. It permits survivors to seek compensation for losses caused by another party’s negligence, including in cases still under active investigation like this one. Families of crash victims can pursue this claim regardless of whether criminal charges are ever filed.
This summary is general information, not legal advice. Every case depends on its specific facts.
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