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.
Alleged hit-and-run driver faces 31-count indictment, accused of killing 1, injuring 7 others in SE Portland rampage
Updated Feb 03, 2021;
A Multnomah County grand jury returned a 31-count indictment Wednesday against a man accused of striking and killing one woman and injuring seven other people in a wild, 15-block rampage in his Honda Element last week in Southeast Portland.
The indictment charges Paul Rivas with second-degree murder and failure to perform the duties of a driver in the killing of Jean Gerich, 77, a pedestrian who was hit twice and then dragged for a block.
She died about three hours later from blunt force trauma at OHSU Hospital, according to her son and daughter.
×
Alleged hit-and-run driver pleads not guilty to 31-count indictment in Portland vehicle rampage that killed 1, injured 7
Paul Rivas, who at one time lived in Woodland, has March 2019 conviction in Clark County for second-degree voyeurism By Maxine Bernstein, oregonlive.com
Share: Motorist Paul Rivas, 64, speaks behind a protective glass alongside sheriff s deputies as a public defender, in red mask, listens in the court room at the Justice Center in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2020. The motorist accused of hitting pedestrians, bicyclists and killing a 77-year-old woman has pleaded not guilty to murder and has given detectives bizarre explanations about the incident, according to court documents. (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP)
Motorist, 64, accused of SE Portland vehicle rampage that killed woman, injured many others gave bizarre explanations
Updated Jan 27, 2021;
19
Motorist Paul Rivas, 64, pleaded not guilty to 14 felony allegations, accused of careening into and killing a 77-year-old woman and at least six others during an erratic vehicle rampage Monday in Southeast Portland.
Facebook Share
Paul Rivas, a 64-year-old motorist accused of mowing down pedestrians, bicyclists and killing a 77-year-old woman Monday during an erratic 15-block rampage in Southeast Portland, gave detectives bizarre explanations for what occurred when questioned the next day, according to court documents.
Rivas initially claimed his Honda Element was having brake problems and that he was searching for an auto repair shop.