“I thought I was going to be hit. I thought they were intentionally trying to mow a bunch of people down on the bike path.”
– Elliott Young, witness
For several moments during a scary police chase on the Springwater Corridor last Friday, Elliott Young thought he’d become the latest victim of a reckless driver. Young was on his way to work at Lewis & Clark College, heading south on the popular bike path near Oaks Amusement Park when he saw someone in a car driving right towards him.
Young was one of the people who narrowly escaped tragedy when a suspected car thief chose to evade police by driving nearly two miles on the Springwater path at speeds near 50 mph.
“I noticed a car driving on the grass [near Oaks Amusement Park] and thought, ‘Oh must be some kids just having fun.'” Young shared with me in a phone call Tuesday. “But than as I got closer it went up the steep embankment and I thought maybe the person had lost control of the vehicle and it was headed right for me so I jumped off my bike.”
At this point, Young was standing right up against the chain-link fence that separates the railroad tracks from the path. And the driver of a white Kia was headed up the sloped embankment between the path and SE Oaks Park Way. “I thought I was going to be hit,” he recalls. “I thought they were intentionally trying to mow a bunch of people down on the bike path.”
Fortunately the driver of the car — a man who’s been charged numerous crimes including the theft of seven cars in the past four years — turned away from Young at the last second and continued north on the path.
Given the suspect’s long police record, it’s understandable why he wanted to escape the police.
According to court documents we’ve reviewed, the 23-year old man has been in and out of court and charged with numerous felonies since early 2019:
- February 2019: Arrested for theft of a bank card and possession of meth in Deschutes County.
- April 2020: Interfering with an officer of the law (misdemeanor).
- November 2021: Arrested and charged with five counts: fleeing a police officer (felony and misdemeanor), unauthorized use of a vehicle, and possession of stolen vehicle.
- March 2022: Arrested and charged with five counts: fleeing a police officer (felony), unauthorized use of a vehicle, and possession of stolen vehicle.
- June 14th. 2022: Arrested for stealing a car on NE 33rd Avenue.
- June 19th, 2022: Arrested for stealing a car on N Going Street.
- November 2022: Arrested for car theft.
- March 25th, 2023: Arrested for car theft.
- April 14th, 2023: Arrested for attempt to evade police, use of a stolen car, reckless driving, and hit-and-run (property damage).
His latest arrest on April 14th included four felony and three misdemeanor charges. According to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office he was released three days later and is no longer in custody.
It’s an indictment on our entire system that someone like this is in such dire straits and is able to continue to commit so many dangerous crimes.
“I think it speaks to the larger social issues that have been unattended to and uninvested in for the last 30 years in Portland,” Young said when asked to respond to the suspect’s long criminal record. “There’s obviously a lot of people who have various problems in our community that results in these kinds of behaviors. And it’s unfortunate, and makes all of us feel less safe.”
Young said he doesn’t want more police to be thrown at this type of problem. He wants the focus to be on the root causes. “My reaction is that we need to understand the underlying problems that lead people to houselessness, addiction, and mental illness; and then invest in finding solutions for people who are clearly hurting.”