A Multnomah County jury has assigned most responsibility for a fatal 2019 motorcycle crash to Portland, finding that street parking near a Southeast Portland intersection obstructed a driver’s view of approaching traffic. The verdict also found the driver, Eric Whitfield, partly responsible. The jury awarded $5.1 million to the family of Elijah Coe, a 46-year-old chef who died after the May 2019 collision. It found the city 70% at fault and Whitfield 30% at fault, while finding Coe was not responsible for the crash. Coe was riding east on East Burnside Street when Whitfield, then 33, turned left from Southeast 17th Avenue in a Saab. Whitfield told jurors he believed the way was clear. Coe swerved to avoid the car but struck an oncoming vehicle. He suffered severe injuries and died five days later at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. He left a wife and a 17-year-old son. Coe’s family sued Whitfield and the city in 2020, arguing that a Subaru parked near the corner limited the view available to drivers entering Burnside from 17th Avenue. Their attorneys said visibility was reduced to between 63 and 108 feet, short of the 200 feet they said safety standards called for on a street with a 30 mph speed limit. They also argued the city violated state law requiring a 20-foot buffer between a crosswalk and the first parked vehicle. A judge dismissed the case against the city in 2022, but the Oregon Court of Appeals allowed it to proceed to trial in 2025. The two-week trial took place before Multnomah County Circuit Judge Cheryl Albrecht. The city argued that Whitfield’s turn into oncoming traffic and Coe’s speed and helmet use caused the crash. Experts cited by Coe’s family estimated that he was traveling between 30 and 35 mph; a city expert put his speed at 40 mph. The posted limit at the time was 30 mph. Portland has since lowered the limit on that stretch of Burnside to 20 mph as part of its Vision Zero effort to prevent traffic deaths and serious injuries. City attorney Caroline Turco told jurors that Portland had worked to improve safety on Burnside and had created a one-car-length buffer at the corner. She also said the city could not afford to install no-parking signs at every intersection where parked cars obstruct sightlines. Coe family attorney Scott Kocher pointed to a 2010 email from a nearby daycare center warning the city that drivers had difficulty judging whether it was safe to enter Burnside. The verdict highlights a citywide tension between keeping curbside parking available and protecting visibility at intersections. Kocher said he expects Portland to restrict parking at more corners, warning that the city could face additional lawsuits if it does not address the hazard. Whitfield’s attorney, Heather Beasley, also urged the city to improve sightlines, saying the parked car had prevented Coe and Whitfield from seeing one another. The $5.1 million award is unlikely to reach the family in full. State limits on government liability reduce the city’s share of roughly $3.6 million to about $1.45 million. A separate cap on wrongful-death claims limits Whitfield’s portion to about $1.1 million; if he cannot pay, the city would be responsible for that amount. Kocher said roughly $220,000 will go toward Coe’s medical expenses, with much of the remainder expected to cover legal fees, expert costs and other expenses from six years of litigation. A Portland spokesperson said city officials were reviewing the policy implications of the verdict.