Driver accused of killing 1, injuring 7 in Portland rampage committed to state hospital

The man

accused of plowing a car

into pedestrians and cyclists in Southeast Portland in 2021, killing a 77-year-old woman, has been placed under the jurisdiction of the Oregon Psychiatric Security Review Board and will remain at the Oregon State Hospital for at least two years.

The decision by Multnomah County Circuit Judge Katharine von Ter Stegge on Tuesday means

Paul Rivas,

68, continues to be mentally unfit to stand trial in the Jan. 25, 2021, rampage that killed

Jean Gerich and injured seven others.

In court, multiple witnesses for the prosecution described Rivas’s erratic behavior during and after his alleged spree.

One person who was hit said that Rivas

made U-turns in the middle

of the street before striking her, and multiple witnesses said that he veered onto sidewalks as he apparently tried to run people down.

Joseph Corona, a Portland police detective who investigated the incident, read police interview transcripts in court. During

a rambling interview with detectives,

Rivas claimed that he had specialized training that gave him “another sense,” had a security clearance from the U.S. government and was being pursued by foreign intelligence services.

“I noticed that there was a car that was following me. Then there was a car on the side that was kind of, I thought they might be a threat,” Rivas told investigators of the moment before he allegedly started driving into people. “I ran a search of my brain and it said that they could be either forces from the U.S., they could be outside forces from threatening forces from wherever.”

Rivas then explained to

investigators

that his next move was to undertake “evasive maneuvers” to get away from the people he thought were pursuing him, prompting him to drive on the curb and eventually crash his car.

Video footage from the incident that prosecutors played in court Tuesday showed Rivas running from witnesses. At one point in the video, Rivas appears to pick up a large potted plant in an attempt to throw it at someone.

Police pulled up to the scene soon after and wrestled Rivas to the ground.

Since his arraignment on Feb. 4, 2021 — when he pleaded not guilty — the case against Rivas had been delayed multiple times by psychiatric evaluations that found him unfit to aid in his own defense, court records show. In the intervening years, Rivas has been held at the Oregon State Hospital.

— Tatum Todd is a breaking news reporter who covers public safety, crime and community news. Reach them at ttodd@oregonian.com or 503-221-4313.

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