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PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Police are still looking for victims who may have been directly endangered by the Portland man accused of driving through the Grand Floral Parade route – nearly hitting an officer, families, and volunteers.
Witnesses said it was a bizarre and chaotic scene – and it was caught on camera.
Ariff Mohammed Ali who captured the incident on video said that just minutes before, he was excited about finding a good spot for his family to watch the parade. Next thing he knew, a driver breached the parade route on Northeast Weidler Street, then led police on a chase.
RELATED: Police: Pickup smashes through barricade on Portland parade route, nearly hits people
“I hear this screeching behind us, and I was like ‘whoa, what’s that,’ and I look around and I see this truck going through, passing the ODOT rescue trucks,” Mohammed Ali said.
In the video, the pickup truck drives toward the crowd on Northeast Weidler Street as people scramble to safety.
“Out of the way, out of the way, what is this guy doing,” someone in the crowd shouts.
Parents snatch up their children.
“He was going so fast, and he almost hit a couple of families,” Mohammed Ali said. “I saw the anger in his eyes that he was just frustrated. I don’t know at what.”
The Portland Police Bureau said that on Saturday around 10 a.m., 42-year-old Sidney Sean Mecham of Portland allegedly drove a pickup truck through the closed streets of the parade route by driving up, onto a hillside to get around two ODOT trucks.
PPB said a motorcycle officer heard the commotion and saw the truck driving east on Northeast Weidler Street, and said the driver refused to stop. The driver then led police on a chase.
Investigators said the driver headed south on Northeast MLK Jr. Blvd. Then turned left onto Northeast Wasco Street, and finally left the parade route. The PPB Air Support Unit was able to track the truck stopped near Northeast 24th Avenue and Clackamas Street, where Mecham was taken into custody.
“Thank God there were no families that were injured,” Mohammed Ali said.
SEE ALSO: Grand Floral Parade brings hundreds to Portland for live bands, colorful floats, local performers
Mecham faces reckless driving charges from this incident, and also faces a hit and run charge from an unrelated case.
Again, police want to hear from anyone who felt endangered. Anyone who believes they have information about this incident and have not yet spoken to police is asked to contact Officer David Baer at David.Baer@police.portlandoregon.gov and reference case number 23-152688.
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June 12, 2023 at 01:10PM
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‘I hear this screeching behind us’: Families scramble away from pickup in Portland parade area - Fox 12 Oregon
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