The Portland Police Bureau’s Traffic Division is still trying to find the person who was driving a Subaru WRX that intentionally ran into two people in two different locations within minutes of each other on September 21st near the Rose Quarter. Last week, the PPB issued an internal bulletin to all Portland police officers to be on the lookout for the vehicle and I have now received the public version of that bulletin, which includes a photo of the model of Subaru they are looking for (see photo below) and a detailed description of the car and the suspect…
The driver is believed to be a male with dark complexion, in his 20’s, with short, clean looking, brown hair. Here’s the vehicle description:
- Most likely a silver Subaru Impreza/WRX sedan, probably 2002-2003
- A round driving light was left at the scene and came from the right front of the car.
- Dark tinted windows
- Witness described it as having no plates and a temporary permit in the rear window.
- Witnesses also described a green sticker in the back window, possibly with three squiggles like the Monster Energy drink logo.
- Car will likely have light damage and scratches on the front end and hood.
If you have seen this “vehicle of interest” please call Crime Stoppers at (503) 823-HELP.
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Seems like having a temp. permit would help “Narrow it Down” as far as suspects in the area.
I can’t understand how it would be that difficult to narrow this down to at most a few dozen suspects. When you go to register your car they collect quite a bit of data on you both from the car and your license. Off the top of my head: make, model, and year of car. Height, sex, hair/eye color, and age of person. What is the window on temp permits, 3 months? Assuming this guy registered the car in his name I would think the list of likely suspects could be narrowed down to a handful. Do the cops not want to go knock on doors or something?
Temp permits are good for two weeks here in Oregon; in Washington, they’re good for whatever length of time you want to put on them. You can get two a year here in Oregon.
If you get one from a dealership (like, when you buy a car), I believe they’re good for three months– that gives the DMV and the dealership time to process the paperwork and get the registration and plates mailed out to you.
The cops and the DMV should be working together in this day and age of high computer technologies to flag all silver Subaru WRX of the year and body configuration who have temp permits.
The cops should also be talking with Wentworth Subaru, just up the street from the scenes of the crime.
If this attack was in close proximity to Wentworth Subaru perhaps it could have been a test drive or even an employee.
This dealership should rule themselves out as the source of the weapon/car.
And by employee I’m suggesting a scene like when Ferris Bueler drops off the red convertable with the valet.
We see people drop off their vehicles with others trusting that it will only be used when needed not for joy riding.
If you were working a low pay job at a dealership, had access to customer vehicles and a urge to harass cyclists think of how long you could get away with it if you used a different vehicle every day.
They don’t even have the right picture. That’s an RS, not a WRX. The difference being there’s a prominent hood scoop and low profile rear spoiler on the WRX, and the wheels are different. The hood scoop and rear spoiler are telltale signs of a WRX from afar.
Here’s a WRX: http://www.autowire.net/originalpics/2002impreza.jpg
Wouldn’t a dealership notice is a test drive or employee returned a damaged car?
According to the article this incident occurred at around 7:50am, Wentworth Subaru doesn’t open until 8:30, so it’s unlikely the dealership had anything to do with this (though of course he could have purchased the vehicle from them on a previous day).
First, I’m confused. Does the car have a hood scoop or doesn’t it? The photo shows no hood scoop.
Second, the car was east-bound on Lloyd Blvd. My first thought was that it could have been coming from Benson High School, where the driver dropped off a passenger at that hour of the morning. Also, doesn’t Benson have an auto shop, where the car could be brought in for repair by a student (driver or friend of driver)?
Numero #10:
There’s an exit off of I-84 that dumps traffic off onto Lloyd. That car could have been coming from just about anywhere. It doesn’t help to wildly speculate about where the car was coming from.
Cyclist #11:
That’s a good point.
We’re sleuthing in lieu of a PPB detective assigned to the case.
A PPB detective could solve this case quite readily by first, working with DMV; second, checking with Subaru dealers and parts departments (driver needs to replace headlight); and third, perhaps check with Bonnevill Power security, whose cameras continuously monitor the stretch of Lloyd from 12th to 9th, to see where the driver could possibly have come from. Has anyone seen whether the local TV news have broadcast this Public Bulletin?
If the car is a WRX that hasn’t been completely bastardized then it would absolutely have a hood scoop and trail abuser’s photo and description would be entirely accurate.
Odds are that if it has a Monster sticker, it is “bastardized”. As a Subaru and import car guy for the last 15 years, that has been my experience. It was also initially noted that the exhaust was modified.
Many WRX’s do not have spoilers; that is becoming more and more the trend.
Unless this guy is trying to get caught and has $$ to burn, he will NOT buy the light through a dealership. Many cheaper resources through the interweb.
So many detectives here!
So why did it take so long for the police to issue this bulletin?
I agree that they should have been able to cross-reference the temp sticker and narrow it down to only a few hundred people… I’m sure a lot of silver Subaru Imprezas are sold every day…
I also agree that security cameras in the area should have been tapped that day to get all the coverage of where the car came from and went to…
I’d have to assume that the police read these blogs and have already done those things…
The hood scoop is functional and air cools the turbo’s intercooler. The vehicle would need major modifications to function without the scoop. It is a much bigger ‘bastardization’ than a sticker, and would be a much larger project than the average yahoo would be able to pull off.
…so what I’m trying to say is that realistically this car had a hood scoop.
The spoilers were optional. But yes someone was correct, the WRX had a huge scoop on the hood for the intercooler right underneath it.
I was hit and run by someone who had Illinois Dealer plates. The police found out they were being used illegally for a long period of time. A Dealer employee was bending the rules for a friend.
First the cops should pull all Oregon temp permit data for the WRX.
Then…It’s a small chance, but yes, the local Dealers should all be given a subponea or search warrant for their VIN inventory of any WRX. It is very possible this car was not in the hands of a customer. Inspect each one for a new front end paint job and body work.
But would a dealer allow an ugly sticker in the car?
Regarding all the discussion about hood scoops etc:
It seems likely to me that the witnesses were shown various pictures of subarus and chose the one that looked most like their recollection of the vehicle. They may not have been aware of the intricacies of identifying different models of cars and just called it a WRX mistakenly. In any case a bike commute is a good time to keep an eye out for the car so keep your eyes peeled. Also if I was that guy, I wouldn’t keep that monster sticker in my window for very long after realizing that people were looking for it on my car.
Mr. Lieber described the revving as a “jet engine” sound. There are three sound sources when an engine revs: exhaust system/muffler(likely after-market), after-market open element intake, or turbo blow off valve. The first, exhaust, and unique to Subaru flat lying boxer engines, makes a low rumbling as though the engine is much bigger than it’s 2.0 liter 4 cylinder suggests. The second, an open element air filter, makes a much higher pitched whistle as air rushes through a pleated cone or foam filter element. The third possible sound can only come from turbo engines that have an after-market blow off valve installed. They make a pssssssshhhhh psssssshhhh sound as air is released from the intake pipes when the throttle is released after the engine is revved. If it can be determined which combination of sounds Lieber heard as the Impreza revved up behind him, it may help in locating the car.
How do we know it was an Oregon car?
WRX badges can be bought for cheap and slapped on any RS. Look at how many Honda Civic’s became SI’s (or better yet, Type R’s) with the application of badges, stickers and an obnoxious exhaust.
So, do we know for certain it was a WRX?
Regarding exhaust noise: a lot of Subaru owners of a certain type modify the exhaust from the cat back to enhance the rumbling– a straight 2″ pipe and coffee can-style muffler is it all takes.
“Jet Engine sound” to me would be a combo of the modified exhaust sound combined with the blow-off valve for the turbo.
Did I miss it again has a good point– this car could have been an out-of-state car. Washington’s temp permits look a lot like Oregon’s. And, yes, WRX badges can be bought for cheap… it would probably be best to call it a WRX-style Subaru.
I think it was around the 2002-2003 range where all the Subaru sedans looked pretty much the same, as far as the Impreza chassis. That’s the 2.5RS and the WRX. The STI looked way different.