A mourner attended a vigl for Jean Gerich -- who was repeatedly struck by driver Paul Rivas, police say -- while holding a candle outside Buckman Elementary on Jan. 26.
A mourner attended a vigl for Jean Gerich -- who was repeatedly struck by driver Paul Rivas, police say -- while holding a candle outside Buckman Elementary on Jan. 26.
Police have identified the driver accused of hitting nine people, killing one of them, during a violent hit-and-run rampage in Southeast Portland on Monday, Jan. 25.
Paul Rivas, 64, a resident of unincorporated Oregon City near Eagle Creek, was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on several charges, including second-degree murder. He also faces one count of second-degree assault and two counts of failure to perform the duties of a driver, typically known as "hit-and-run."
Police have not been able to determine a motive but have ruled out terrorism and bias.
"Relationship to victims are unknown," court documents say. Bail has been set at $1.5 million.
Rivas — who is also known as "Rocket" and "Pablo," according to the court records — has one misdemeanor conviction for second-degree voyeurism in 2019 in Washington state. He was still on probation in Clark County at the time of his arrest for the deadly vehicular incident.
The documents say Rivas told a jailer he "lives alone in a 5th wheel" for the past 13 years on a property owned by a landlord, though court docs from prior years also list addresses in Woodland, Washington, and a P.O. Box in Vancouver. He is unemployed, divorced and living on Social Security benefits, per the docs.
Rivas has at least eight traffic citations on his record since 2006 in Oregon, including for failure to obey a traffic control device, driving while suspended and driving while uninsured.
Hit and run spree
Investigators said there were multiple crime scenes and that the deadly rampage began near Laurelhurst Park around 1 p.m. on Jan. 25 when the driver slammed into several people on the sidewalk along a stretch of Southeast Stark Street.
The crime scenes span from Southeast Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard and Southeast 15th Avenue, and from East Burnside Street to Southeast Belmont Street.
Police say as they were responding to the first report, they quickly received calls that the same driver was involved in other crashes of cars and pedestrians.
Authorities said they received multiple calls about an incident with the Honda Element at 32nd and Belmont, 33rd and Belmont, 37th and Pine and other points before it ended between Southeast 18th and 17th near Stark.
The suspect then attempted to run away on foot, but people in the neighborhood helped "corral" him until police could take him into custody, Sgt. Derek Carmon said.
Portland Fire & Rescue Lt. Rich Chatman said once they responded to the scene at Southeast 18th and Stark, they quickly realized it was a "multiple patient scene."
Two of the injured were cyclists and six were pedestrians — they all suffered minor injuries and are recovering. But 77-year-old Jean Gerich died of her injuries. A vigil was held Tuesday evening, Jan. 26.
Reporter Zane Sparling contributed for Pamplin Media Group. KOIN 6 New, a media partner of the Portland Tribune, also contributed. You can read there story here.
