One person died and five others were taken to hospitals after a car on the street and on the sidewalks hit several people in Portland, Oregon, on Monday, officials said.
The alleged driver of the silver Honda Element left the scene on foot and was detained by police after being “cornered” by people in the community, a Portland Police spokesman said. The crime scene spans dozens of blocks, police said.
“We have information that he was on the street and on the sidewalks – but it is too preliminary now for me to go any further on what he was doing, what his intentions were.” police spokesman, Officer Derek Carmon, told reporters.
One of the six people affected was seriously injured and died later, Portland Fire & Rescue said. The person who died was described as an adult. The other five were expected to recover, said a fire brigade lieutenant at the scene.
The name of the suspect driver was not immediately released. Police said he was being prosecuted and that information about the arrest would be released later.
Police received calls about a hit-and-run near Southeast 33rd Avenue and Southeast Pine Street, which is close to Laurelhurst Park, around 1 pm, and then received calls from more people being hit, Carmon said.
The driver ran over other pedestrians and cars before crashing near Southeast Stark Street and Southeast 18th Avenue, police said, about a kilometer away.
Whether the series of crashes and pedestrians was intentional – and if they were, for what reason – is still under investigation, said Carmon.
When firefighters arrived, they were greeted by people pointing out where the other wounded were, said Lt. Rich Chatman of Portland Fire & Rescue.
“As you can imagine, there was a lot of chaos going on,” said Chatman.
A man who helped a woman who was hit told the NBC affiliate KGW that the woman told him that the driver hit her once and then came back and hit her a second time.
“It was the first time that I thought to myself that this was an intentional thing,” said the man.
After the person who was arrested fled on foot, people in the community kept him in place and called the police, said Carmon.
“A group of community members on the street here saw him run from the scene of the accident and sort of cornered him and notified the police where he was – kind of kept him in place until the police were able to arrest him,” he said. “So, we are very grateful to them for that.”
Police said they hope to release more information about the incident as it becomes available. They are also encouraging anyone who sees rubble from cars or bicycles, or who has a video, to call the police.
“The crime scene is very big,” said Carmon.
