After hitting bicyclist, pedestrians, and killing a grandmother, the motorist dubbed as the 'Portland deadly driver' has pleaded not guilty to murder and shared bizarre explanations regarding the incidents giving the detectives a hard time based on the court documents.
Not Guilty Plea
The 64-year-old man named Paul Rivas was charged with six counts of failure to perform his duties as a driver after causing injuries, and another six counts of second-degree assault.
He was also charged with one count of failure to perform the duties of a driver that resulted in the death of a person.
The perpetrator pleaded not guilty to all the charges. All of the mentioned charges were all felonies.
According to Associated Press via Yahoo News, during his appearance in the court, the 64-year old Portland deadly driver had asked if any of the charges that he is facing is a misdemeanor and asked why cameras from news agencies and photographers were present inside the courtroom.
In his probable cause affidavit, Prosecutor Sean P. Hughey wrote that Rivas mentioned to the investigators at first that he encountered brake problems in his Honda element, adding that he was in search of an auto repair shop.
The 64-year-old man also suggested that the injuries that were acquired by the individuals were probably inflicted by a similar-looking Honda vehicle, and not his.
Portland Deadly Driver Rampage
Despite no evidence of terrorism, bias, or political motivation found in a series of hit-and-run crashes, the actions of the 'Portland deadly driver' have shown that he meant to hit his victims, which resulted in one death after 10 individuals were struck on Monday.
According to NBC News, after crashing a Honda element and being corralled by people in the neighborhood, the suspect was brought to a hospital on Tuesday, but the Portland police have not yet released the identity of the 'Portland deadly driver.'
Based on the police's statement on Tuesday, they have shared that detectives were not able to find any evidence that what the 'Portland deadly driver' did was an act of terrorism. Authorities were not able to find proof that the incident was politically motivated.
However, detectives emphasized that the driver's actions did show intent in hitting and injuring people on the road.
The 77-year-old, grandmother of five, Jean Gerich, was killed during the series of hit-and-run crashes.
On the police's released statement, the dead victim's family shared that the 77-year-old woman was a cancer survivor who also lived in Portland for nearly half a century.
Her family mentioned in a released statement by the police on Tuesday that Jean Gerich should not be treated as another nameless victim, but as a loving mother and grandmother.
They also added that Jean would be turning 78 in less than two weeks, and she had beaten cancer five years ago.
Her family also stated that she received her first vaccination shot for coronavirus last week and was overjoyed to get out in the world again.
Moreover, police stated that charges against the 'Portland deadly driver', as well as his identity would be revealed once he is already detained.
Chuck Lovell, the Portland Police Chief, tagged the events on Monday as senseless acts of violence.
He also mentioned that his department expressed condolences for the Gerich family and those injured by the incident.
Based on the statement of the witnesses, they have shared that the suspect narrowly missed a pedestrian while he was driving erratically. After that, the first pedestrian who was struck was hit just minutes past 1:00 p.m, Daily Mail reported.
Based on the police report, the 'Portland deadly driver' struck ten individuals in all, along with cars.
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