Reconstructing a Mile-Long Hit-and-Run Rampage

Oregonlive.com

On Jan. 25, a driver tore through Southeast Portland, swerving, speeding and plowing into pedestrians and cars. The rampage left one person dead and 10 others injured. The string of hit-and-runs also left victims, witnesses and family members bewildered and trying to piece together what happened.

Paul Rivas, a 64-year-old man from rural Oregon City, faces 31 charges, including one of murder, seven of attempted murder and more than a dozen related to assault and attempted assault. He is accused of killing 77-year-old Jean Gerich, who died at the hospital about three hours after she was struck. At his arraignment Thursday, Rivas ducked from the view of people gathered to watch.

Those who were hit or who witnessed the carnage are working to digest the shock. Several testified before the grand jury Monday and Tuesday.

Donald “Scot” Hinson was struck as he was making a bike delivery. Hinson is trying to make sense of what happened.

“I’ve been kind of wrestling with that, trying to figure out if everything was accidental, how it would have affected me differently,” said Hinson, who went to the hospital after he was hit.

The Oregonian/OregonLive compiled a timeline of the rampage based on the accounts of nearly a dozen victims and witnesses, as well as court documents, medical dispatch recordings and information from police. The timeline tracks the unfolding chaos and Rivas’ arrest. The records show the driver of a silver Honda Element hit at least six people within less than 10 minutes. The rampage spanned nearly one mile through the Buckman neighborhood, passing by homes and a business district.

Parts of the day remain unclear, such as what brought the driver to Southeast Portland, what his motive was and what he was doing from the time he was first spotted driving erratically to when he struck the first victim. After the rampage ended, a witness told police a silver Honda Element had been driving erratically at 26th Avenue and Stark Street around noon, about an hour before the vehicle hit anyone.

Although police answered some questions about the timeline of events, a spokesperson declined to answer detailed questions, such as the driver’s exact path. Police also have not identified every person who was hit. City officials declined to provide 911 audio from the rampage, citing the active investigation.

Because so many details remain unknown, the timeline cannot offer a complete picture of what happened. Some collisions happened within seconds of each other and may be listed out of sequence.

Yet piecing together what is known so far sheds light on a tragic attack that shook a community. People were struck outside their own homes, neighbors rushed to help people they didn’t know and others held the suspect at bay as he tried to run from the crash site. An ordinary day in Portland suddenly turned deadly, leaving lasting physical and emotional damage.

Juan Caicedo had been biking home during a lunch break when the Honda Element slammed into him. He suffered scrapes and bruises, and lost consciousness immediately after the crash.

“Sometimes I feel really fortunate,” said Caicedo. “Other times, it really impacts me how sudden and how violent it all was.”

1:00–1:05 p.m.

Emergency dispatchers received the first of many calls about a silver Honda Element driving recklessly, initially near Laurelhurst Park.

Faviola Palomera was walking in the park when she saw the Element doing U-turns, according to court filings. Palomera told investigators that the next thing she knew, she woke up in the hospital with a head injury.

Palomera did not respond to requests for comment.

Daveed Jacobo witnessed the crash unfold. He said the Honda Element turned right from 33rd Avenue onto Pine Street. The driver sped up and hit Palomera as she was crossing the street near Laurelhurst Park. Jacobo said the license plate flew off the car, which allowed him to report it. He and others stayed with her until first responders arrived.

Witnesses told police the vehicle was driving erratically at speeds as high as 60 mph.

Cody Warnes was working at Advantis Credit Union at 30th Avenue and Belmont Street when he saw the Honda Element swerve from the correct lane on Belmont into oncoming eastbound traffic. The driver turned left and clipped a cyclist’s knee. He said the cyclist fell to the ground. The vehicle sped off, then hit a second cyclist as the driver turned left from Belmont onto 30th.

Cody Warnes was working at Advantis Credit Union at 30th Avenue and Belmont Street when he saw the Honda Element swerve from the correct lane on Belmont into oncoming eastbound traffic. The driver turned left and clipped a cyclist’s knee. He said the cyclist fell to the ground. The vehicle sped off, then hit a second cyclist as the driver turned left from Belmont onto 30th.

Police have not publicly identified these cyclists.

Tylor Meyer was driving on Belmont Street when he witnessed the collisions near 30th Avenue. Meyer gave chase as the driver continued west.

“He takes a left onto Stark Street, driving very fast, very crazy, speeding around, running traffic lights, running red lights,” Meyer said.

One witness, who asked not to be identified, said he was walking his dog at 28th Avenue and Washington Street when he saw Element drive onto the sidewalk. Thinking the driver was trying to park, the witness tried to get his attention, but the driver floored it toward him. The witness jumped and pulled his dog to safety, then went behind a building to call 911 at 1:03 p.m.

Meyer continued to follow the driver for much of the rampage. He described the driver going all over the place, at times doubling back and making U-turns, striking pedestrians as he drove.

“I saw two down jackets just explode and feathers go everywhere once he was on top of them,” Meyer said.

1:05 p.m.

Caicedo was riding his bike near 20th Avenue and Belmont Street after picking up lunch.

He arrived at his driveway when he felt the wind being knocked out of him. The force slammed him to the ground. He looked up and saw the sky. He briefly lost consciousness, then someone came to ask if he was OK.

John Kirk, the owner of the nearby marijuana dispensary Belmont Collective, was upstairs washing dishes when he heard the impact. He looked out his window and saw Caicedo flying through the air. The crash split Caicedo’s bike helmet in half.

“I dropped what I was doing and ran down to assist him,” Kirk said.

Within minutes, other people came out of storefronts to help. “Pretty much the whole neighborhood was shut down,” Kirk said.

He stayed with Caicedo until an ambulance arrived a few minutes later.

1:05–1:10 p.m.

Raymond Chihak and Nicholas Strickler were riding their bikes on the sidewalk near 19th Avenue and Stark Street. Chihak told police he heard screaming before he saw a Honda Element driving aggressively on the sidewalk toward him. The vehicle struck him where he was standing.

An online fundraising page started by a friend said Strickler was also hit. Their bicycles were destroyed.

Neither Chihak nor Strickler could be reached by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Prosecutors have not filed any charges related to Strickler’s injuries.

Jean Gerich was leaving an appointment when she was struck at the intersection of 19th Avenue and Washington Street, about a block from where Chihak and Strickler were hit. Bystanders said they heard a thump, then heard the 77-year-old woman scream.

As people rushed to help, the Honda Element drove off, then turned back toward Gerich, who was sitting on the sidewalk, and hit her again. The impact pulled her under the vehicle, where she was trapped as the driver went up 19th Avenue. The Honda Element turned left onto Stark Street, and Gerich was tossed out from under it.

Dr. Jack Schunk, a retired pediatrician, and others rushed to Gerich to try and help her. Some brought blankets and first aid supplies, and others tried to keep her still until paramedics arrived.

“She was coherent,” Schunk said. “She told us her name. We asked her if she knew the person and she said ‘no.’”

1:10–1:15 p.m.

Hinson, a bike delivery person for Uber Eats, was riding through the Buckman neighborhood with 10 pounds worth of Thai food, soups and iced tea in his pack. The Honda Element came around the corner at 18th Avenue and Stark Street and accelerated toward him. The vehicle hit him head on and knocked him down, wedging him under a parked car.

The collision left him with a fractured left leg, stitches in his knee and a cut on his face.

Around the same time and place, 18th and Stark, the Honda Element hit a second man.

Travis Andrews told investigators he made eye contact with the driver and tried to move to avoid being hit, moving from the sidewalk into the road. But the driver veered toward him and struck him, injuring his right foot and lower leg, according to court filings.

Attempts by The Oregonian/OregonLive to reach Andrews were unsuccessful.

Miguel Rochin, 48, had rushed to help Hinson, who was struck at 18th and Stark, when he saw the Honda Element come straight at him. Rochin’s legs, hand and head were injured in the crash.

Within seconds, Rochin saw the Honda Element hit a woman who was at her vintage Chevrolet El Camino. The Element came to a stop.

Prudence Hayes was at her car, according to court documents, when the SUV crashed into her car, striking her. Hayes was taken to the hospital and had to get staples in her head from the injuries.

Through her business partner, Hayes declined to speak to The Oregonian/OregonLive about what happened.

After crashing into the El Camino, the driver of the Honda Element got out and ran. Rochin tried to chase the driver west on Stark Street from 18th to 17th avenues, worried the driver would go to nearby Buckman Elementary School.

Others ran to tend to the injured pedestrians.

Katie DeFalco was bringing her laundry out of her nearby apartment building when she heard a commotion on Stark Street. She looked out and saw an injured woman near her El Camino. She dropped her laundry and went to help.

DeFalco said the woman remained conscious and coherent but was shaken and bleeding. She talked to her until an ambulance arrived.

Rochin, Andrews and other bystanders chased the driver and corralled him near 17th Avenue and Stark Street. According to witness accounts, the driver ran and threw items at them, including a flowerpot.

Jonathan Rendon had witnessed the carnage unfold, after another driver warned him about an SUV targeting pedestrians. He saw the driver crash into the El Camino and then run away from the scene.

“He’s coming towards me, running toward my house,” Rendon said. “I grabbed the nearest brick, and with the neighbors, we’re trying to keep him from going anywhere.”

More neighbors and bystanders joined. Rendon said the driver maintained “a blank stare, like nobody was in there.”

1:15–1:20 p.m.

Less than 20 minutes after the Honda Element ran down Palomera, the first victim, Portland police officers arrested the driver.

Rochin took several photos that document the arrest. At one point, at least four police officers surrounded the driver. Some were directly on top of him.

Brandon Kutzler arrived at the scene just after the arrest. He heard an officer say the driver had spit into his mouth as he was being arrested.

He said the driver remained quiet, not showing any obvious signs of intoxication.

Nearly 36 hours passed before police publicly identified Paul Rivas as the man who they suspected was at the wheel.

The Aftermath

Gerich died after the crash at OHSU Hospital. The next day, about 45 people gathered near Buckman Elementary to honor her and others who were hit. They handed out roses and candles, then walked to the corner of Stark Street and 19th Avenue to lay them down at a memorial for Gerich.

Neighbors talked about the toll the rampage took on them, even if they didn’t know any of the victims.

“It’s a pretty small community and just being present and seeing what happened yesterday has really impacted me,” said Calley Ekberg, who helped organize the vigil as a space for “collective healing.”

In the days following the rampage, victims and witnesses have leaned on one other to work through the shock.

“I didn’t realize it was going to hit me as hard as it did,” said Kirk, the business owner who tended to Caicedo. “We don’t know the person’s mental state or motive, but to have the story unravel later, it’s pretty gut-wrenching.”

Schunk, the retired pediatrician who helped Gerich, said he has talked to some of the people who were at the scene.

“We agree that what we remember is bits and pieces,” he said. “Like the interval between seeing the car coming down on her and seeing her disappear — it’s gone.”

Rochin, a day laborer, was one of the last people Rivas struck. He said he’s been anxious as he wrestles with how he could have stopped the driver from inflicting further damage. He said his injuries have prevented him from immediately returning to work.

“I’ve not been sleeping good,” he said. “I feel so sad — like I could have prevented it.”

Caicedo said he hopes to connect with other victims looking for support. Three days after the crash, he walked to the memorial set up for Gerich. The visit was emotional as he processed the shock and sadness.

“Seeing the people that cared for her — that there’s a legacy and a lasting quality to our lives even in that randomness and violence — that was helpful,” Caicedo said.