Oregon man booked on murder charge in Southeast Portland road rampage

The Oregon State Medical Examiner determined that Jean Gerich died of blunt force trauma and ruled her death a homicide, according to police. Police released a statement from her family thanking the people at the scene who tried to help her.

“Jean Gerich was not a nameless victim. She was a loving mother of two. She was a proud grandmother of five, ages 4 to 16. She would have turned 78 in twelve days. She beat cancer five years ago. She received her first vaccination shot last week and was overjoyed to get out in the world again,” the family said.

Larry Wolfe told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he had an appointment with the woman who was killed and saw her get hit by the car and scream. He was walking toward her when the car came back, hit her again, did a U-turn and dragged her along the pavement, he said. The driver eventually crashed and ran away before a group of people corralled him, Carmon said.

Police said Rivas’ actions did show he intended to hit and injure people, but that “detectives did not find evidence that this was an act of terrorism. Detectives did not find bias indicators, nor do they believe this is politically motivated.”

The Oregonian reported that Rivas is divorced and had been living in what was described as a fifth-wheel trailer on property in Oregon City for 13 years, according to court records.

Rivas had a history of driving dangerously, the Oregonian reported, citing court records that show he got his license reinstated in 2014 after being convicted three times for failing to obey traffic signals, in 2007, 2011 and 2013. He also had a protective order against him out of Vancouver, according to court records.

Citing court records, the Oregonian reported that Rivas also has a prior March 2019 conviction in Clark County for second-degree voyeurism. He was arrested at a Vancouver post office on Aug. 14, 2018, after he was seen trying to use his phone to film under the skirt of a woman standing in line in front of him. He was ordered to spend 20 days in custody and undergo a psychosexual evaluation, according to court records. At the time, Rivas had an address in Woodland.

Portland police confirmed that Rivas’s vehicle is registered in Woodland; online directories also indicate he lived there, but it’s unclear when he moved to Oregon.

The driver hit pedestrian after pedestrian while speeding down residential streets at up to 60 mph, police spokesman Derek Carmon said. Callers to police said someone driving a Honda Element was striking people and vehicles over a 15-block span. A total of ten people were hit, including two cyclists. Most were pedestrians. One man with a head injury couldn’t remember whether he had gotten out of his car before being struck, police said. Most suffered minor injuries and were recovering, police said.

Columbian reporter Jerzy Shedlock contributed to this report.