PORTLAND, OR — What began as a fun Sunday night out for four young friends ended in an unimaginable nightmare early Monday morning. A high-speed attempt to evade a traffic stop led a vehicle to plunge into the icy depths of the Willamette River, leaving three dead and one teenager fighting for his life.
DJ Buckner, 17, is the only one who made it back home to Oregon City. His mother, Melissa Buckner, is now sharing the harrowing details of her son’s miraculous escape and the devastating loss of the boys she considered her own.
A Split-Second Decision Leads to Catastrophe
The group had spent the evening in downtown Portland riding Lime scooters. Around 2:00 AM Monday, as they headed home, the driver—identified by police as 19-year-old Roberto Garcia-Chavez of Beavercreek—spotted a patrol car.
According to Melissa Buckner, the driver “took off” in a panic. Portland police reported that the white 1996 Toyota Corolla began speeding the wrong way down downtown streets, blowing through red lights. When an officer activated their lights, the Corolla tore through the grass of Tom McCall Waterfront Park, heading straight for the water.
Inside the car, the atmosphere was one of pure terror. “They were heading toward the river and my son was yelling,” Melissa said. “’Slow down, slow down, you’re going too fast!’”
The Plunge and a Miraculous Escape
The car crashed through the park’s barrier and dropped dozens of feet into the river. DJ, who was in the backseat, believes he was knocked unconscious upon impact. He woke up at the bottom of the river, his lungs filling with water.
In a desperate fight for survival, DJ managed to find his seatbelt buckle in the dark, submerged cabin. “He said he was swimming forever,” his mother recounted. When he finally broke the surface, he was spotted by the officer—who had not engaged in a high-speed pursuit but had followed the tire tracks to the broken fence.
Even in a state of shock, DJ’s first instinct was to save his friends, yelling to rescuers that three others were still trapped inside the sinking vehicle.
The Aftermath: A Community in Mourning
Emergency responders from the U.S. Coast Guard and Portland Fire & Rescue rushed to the scene, but the outcome was grim. Divers recovered the bodies of Garcia-Chavez and 17-year-old Trent Badillo on Monday. A third passenger, a 20-year-old male, remains missing and is presumed dead.
While DJ was released from the hospital with a fractured nose, black eyes, and severe bruising, the emotional scars are far deeper.
“Every one of them, they’re very, very good boys, just made a stupid mistake,” Melissa Buckner said through tears. “I’m just so, so grateful that he made it out… but I am absolutely crushed.”
Safety and Prevention
Portland authorities have used this tragedy as a somber reminder of the dangers of high-speed flight and the importance of traffic safety. The investigation into the crash is ongoing as divers continue to search for the final victim.
How can we better protect our youth from making split-second decisions with permanent consequences? Share your messages of support for the families and your thoughts on local road safety in the comments below.
