11:33 AM PDT on Tuesday, August 2, 2005

By TERESA BELL, kgw.com Staff

A bicyclist was killed in a hit-and-run in Portland Monday night, in the second serious crash involving a cyclist in just the past few days.

KGW

Police said the man flew quite a distance after getting hit by the car.

Police said the deadly crash happened Monday night, at around 7:40 p.m., on an Interstate-5 northbound ramp at Delta Park.

Witnesses said Frank Theran Vanerstrom, 44, was on the ramp when a car hit him, then sped past onto the Interstate.

"They looked back, I saw that," said witness Sage Harding. "The passenger looked, but they didn't slow down."

The suspect vehicle was described as a teal or turquoise colored sports car with a spoiler in the area of the trunk. Police said the car likely has major front end damage, hood damage, or both.

kgw.com

Police released this photo of Frank Theran Vanerstrom, the cyclist killed in the hit-and-run.

Police said Vanerstrom was a transient and they don't know if he had the right-of-way when the car struck him.

Just last Sunday, a suspected drunk driver struck a bicyclist in southeast Portland. The cyclist survived and is being treated for critical injuries at Oregon Health and Science University.

The driver of the car, Anthony Blankenship, was arrested on charges including driving under the influence of intoxicants and reckless driving.

Monday's crash was also one of two deadly hit-and-runs that happened within six hours of one another. Just after 2 a.m. Tuesday, a pedestrian was struck and killed while walking along Highway 224 east of Estacada. Police do not have a description of that vehicle as no witnesses have come forward at this point.

(KGW reporter Scott Burton also contributed to this article.)