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OREGONIAN WILSONVILLE, OREGON  Jamie Francis/The OregonianMembers of the Brother Speed motorcycle group gather along Interstate 5, south of Wilsonville, this afternoon after a wreck involving 10 of their members.
Members of the Brother Speed outlaw motorcycle club rolled into a bloody 26-bike crash on Interstate 5 north Friday afternoon, south of Wilsonville. "When we arrived on scene, it was ordered mayhem," said Lt. Mike Towner of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. "There were ... two dozen motorcycles scattered across the freeway." Two bikers with critical injuries were flown by LifeFlight helicopter to Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center and OHSU Hospital in Portland. Seven other crash victims with less serious injuries were taken by ambulance. Northbound lanes at Milepost 282, near the Baldock Rest Area, were shut down at 2:45 p.m., then remained closed for more than an hour, backing up traffic for more than seven miles. Southbound traffic also experienced delays. The bikers were heading north to take part in the Portland chapter's annual birthday bash and a weekend demolition derby, according to one law enforcement official. Lt. Gregg Hastings, Oregon State Police spokesman, said 26 motorcycles were traveling north in the left lane, following a car, when traffic ahead began slowing. The car and the bikers all tried to slow down, but collided, piling up on the road. A vehicle in the middle northbound lane was reportedly struck by one of the motorcycles, Hastings said. State troopers rushed to the crash scene, along with crews from the Oregon Department of Transportation, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, American Medical Response and fire departments from Canby, Aurora and St. Paul. Karen Eubanks, TVF&R spokeswoman, said seven crash victims were treated for shoulder and hip injuries and broken bones. Two others were treated but refused to go to a hospital. Police estimate membership of the Brother Speed Motorcycle Club at more than 100 in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Utah. The club, founded in 1969, is one of six in Oregon identified by the state Department of Justice as an outlaw biker gang. Members of the club wear black and gold colors that depict a grinning, winged skull wearing a helmet and motorcycle goggles. The bulk of the club's Oregon membership meets at clubhouses in Portland and Hillsboro, according to law enforcement sources. "BROTHER SPEED M/C is a club that is serious about brotherhood, respect, riding fast and building choppers," the club writes on its Oregon Web site.
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