An Oregon man who, according to prosecutors, intentionally crashed his vehicle with pedestrians and cyclists, killed a grandmother of five and injured others, is charged Wednesday with murder and other charges.
A motive in the riot that began when a person was hit Monday afternoon was unclear, but police said the driver’s actions were intended to hit and injure people.
Paul Rivas, 64, is charged with one count of second-degree murder, seven counts of failure to perform the duties of a driver and six counts of second-degree assault, said Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt. said a statement.
Rivas appeared in court Wednesday and an innocent plea was filed on his behalf, the district attorney’s office said. He was appointed as a public defender who declined to comment Wednesday night.
Jean Gerich, 77, who was hit by a Honda Element, died in the riot, which then made a turn and went onto the sidewalk and hit her a second time, according to a probable statement.
Rivas was arrested after crashing his Honda Element, fleeing on foot and being surrounded by bystanders, police said.
After questioning witnesses, police ‘learned that Rivas was apparently deliberately trying to hit vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians in the area by turning on them while he was on the sidewalk and on the sidewalk’, the district attorney’s office said. said in the statement. After each accident, the driver drove away.
Rivas told police after the arrest that he was driving with a Honda element, and he admitted that he was surrounded and arrested after he crashed it, but he gave a series of explanations about the hit-and-run trap, according to the probable statement.
These include having braking problems and looking for a shop; that a similar element could strike them; and that he did hit a cyclist, but characterized it as an emergency maneuver to avoid a more serious accident, the statement said.
