Portland police identified a 41-year-old man as the pedestrian who was struck and killed last week while attempting to walk across Interstate 5.

Eric M. Tomlinson was killed Thursday about 6:48 p.m. on I-5 southbound, police said. Officers said Tomlinson had a Wisconsin driver’s license. According to public records, in January he provided a Northwest Portland homeless shelter as his address.

Tomlinson was reportedly trying to cross the freeway near the Fremont Bridge when he was hit by a semi-truck. The truck driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with police investigators.

His death marked the 41st traffic fatality so far in Portland this year. Last year, 34 people were killed.

According to city transportation figures, about 22% of traffic deaths so far this year occurred on Oregon Department of Transportation freeways or at on- or off-ramps. That’s slightly less than the percentage during all of 2018, but significantly higher than the proportion of deaths on those facilities in 2015 and 2016.

“It appears that we may be seeing an increase in the proportion of deaths on freeways and at ramps since 2018, but more analysis and more years of data would be needed to say more,” spokesman John Brady said this week.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen

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