Blue Car in the Ravine

Years ago, a car traveling downhill on Taylors Ferry Road went off the road and landed in the ravine. The woman driver clawed her way back up to the road, and reportedly walked away unharmed. An emergency call was made, and Engine 10 responded.

The author interviewed our local firemen briefly for this article. The responders didn't know who this person was, or how to find out, nor did they think the city cared about the car being there. The potential danger of any fuel in car didn't bother them, since it has been there now for years.

As you'll see, the car is resting atop a 12" PVC culvert, which may be a concern for the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) and/or PDOT.

River View Cemetery folks are aware that the car is there.

It's not clear if the car is on cemetery property or if it's on the right-of-way for Taylors Ferry Road, or perhaps in an environmental easement for the stream. The car is upside down, and remains in the ravine, which is not OK, according to Mother Nature.

As Seen From Cemetery side of ravine

The car can't be seen at all from Taylors Ferry, but over the years, people have seen it from the cemetery side of the creek-ravine. There is an unpaved road along the ravine on the cemetery side. This road leads to an old section of graves from ~1920's which is being restored. You can see the car from this old road and burial ground. For more on that, see our blog article on IRENE MULHOLLAND MILES, in References.

Below is a recent photo. A spoked silver hubcap is the most noticeable feature. On investigation, the rear end of the the car seems to be pointing down hill. (The hubcap is on a rear wheel. Go figure!) Maybe the car flipped end-over-end on the way down hill, and came to rest on its roof.

The car has become a bit of a legend, and a mystery, since it is quite unreachable.

Exploring the Site of the Wreck, 4/29/2026

Disclaimer: We do not recommend trying to reach the car! There is nothing of value there. Taylor's Ferry Road is dangerous - no shoulder. The only other way in would be to traverse ~150 yards of the ravine, at or above creek level. Plus you might be trespassing without permission. Unknown territory.

That said with a fair amount of bushwhacking on a sunny afternoon, I visited the site of the blue car in the ravine along Taylor's Ferry Road and River View Cemetery.

It's Surreal down there. The car finally appeared to me almost as if coming around a corner as I made my way along the side of the ravine,

I scouted around for a while, and then took a series of pictures documenting what was down there.

I picked up mundane items and car fragments from around the over-turned car and placed them "on top". There was a pair of slippers, a large white tennis shoe, and a black tank top / crop top. (Sorry - no photo of the brand!) There was nothing inside the upside down car. The air bag had deployed.

The front of the chassis had been cut and the motor winched uphill maybe 10 feet before the amateurs gave up and lashed it to a bush.They evidently also cut the rear chassis on one side (only) in attempt to salvage the wheels. But as you can see from the above photo, all wheels are intact.

The windshield VIN was unreachable due to the position of the car.

It looked like the scrappers had a bit of a party - a wine bottle (?) and snack bags were in the ivy around the car. Who knows what else.

Motor Removed!

The motor was overgrown.

It was a Mazda 2 from the Herzog-Meier dealership. The rear license had been removed or never was there.

Here we are back at the motor, checking out the rope and strapping used in the attempt to move it up hill. Not sure what all they may have stripped off the motor.

This door was hanging on by a single connection. Cut that, and the door would be free. The silver hubcap you see here can be seen from a distance, from the cemetery,

This photo also show how the car is resting on a stormwater conduit that comes down from Taylors Ferry Road. Notice the green T-bar fence post at an angle, lined up with clippers. This T-bar and other iron rods are used to anchor the PVC pipe to the hillside.

Extracting the wrecked car

LIDAR imagery shows the curves of Historic Taylors Ferry Road before it was straightened.

Also in the above image: Lanes and sections of River View Cemetery, the cemetery branches (tributaries) of Stephens Creek.

Note that the straightening left Taylors Ferry with virtually No Shoulder in the downhill lane just before the wreck. It's a very steep drop-off along there, without guard rails. This could explain how such an accident could have happened. Working back up hill from the car to Taylors Ferry, one can discern a possible trajectory, confirmed by bits of plastic wreckage along the way.

The image also shows a flat area (a vestige of old Taylors Ferry Road) just above the wreck, that might be cleared and used by a tow truck to pull the car out of the ravine.

It's possible that an off-roading group would take this on as a challenge, for fun, given permission from the land owner. They have winches that can get it out. There is the matter of liability in the event someone is injured in the process, etc. Any such action would likely disturb the stormwater piping that the car is resting on, so the black pipe would need some attention by professionals. The vegetation might need to be restored after the car is dragged over it, and so on.

Questions for Our Readers

Discuss.

• When did the accident happen, and what caused it?
• Did Portland Police follow up to investigate the cause of the accident?
• Who was the owner/driver? (Is this a matter of privacy?)
• Did the owner collect insurance to replace her car?
• Who tried to salvage the motor?
• Whose responsibility is it to remove the car?
• ?

References

A link appears with each reference, to the source.

• Irene Mulholland Miles, and two forgotten sections of River View Cemetery. [NULL]

Editor's Note

Whose responsibility is it now to remove the car? It surely can't be the private property owner's problem!

It's likely that the car was "totaled" by the insurance company, and that company now holds the title to the vehicle. Evidently they chose to abandon it, but they could be sued by the property owner, to have it removed. (This was learned from the Nextdoor discussion of a post I made about the Blue Car.)

Update! I wanted to check my statement that there is no guard rail along that steep drop off where I figure the blue car went off Taylors Ferry Road -- sure enough, no guard rail there.

Since the GoogleMobile camera is mounted on a tower, it 'sees' into the ravine. I examined the views along Taylors Ferry and amazingly, I STUMBLED UPON A DIFFERENT CAR (Silver sedan or SUV) in a little different place in a 2011 view! That car must have been removed, because I can't find it in later street views.

I'm wondering if this is the car that the driver walked away from? At least one wonders — how many cars have gone off the road over the years. How would one research that?

Here is the Google Maps streetView pin of the view point. Precision questionable!

... to be continued as the story develops.

Photo credits: C.D.Stowell, J.Miller. Editor: J.Miller

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