PORTLAND -- A man with an eye patch and brandishing a large hunting knife reportedly stole a delivery van shortly before 7 a.m. Monday in Southwest Portland.
The incident began about 6:45 a.m. with reports of a man coming into the Multnomah Athletic Club, at Southwest 18th Avenue and Southwest Salmon Street, who said there were people on the street with guns, said Lt. Robert King.
The MAC staff called police. They said the muscular white man was wearing glasses with the left lens blacked out, had short brown hair and a tattoo. He was wearing a sleeveless black shirt and shorts over pants.
Minutes later, dispatchers got reports of the same man running around at Southwest 18th Street and Southwest Main Street. Just before 7 a.m., the man reportedly stole a white Chevrolet Lyons Beverage service van at Southwest 16th Avenue and Southwest Jefferson Street.
At about 7 a.m., that van struck a bicyclist at Southwest 4th Avenue and Southwest Columbia Street. The rider was not hurt. The suspect nearly hit a second cyclist before racing away on Columbia.
About 7:10, officers learned the van had been spotted near North Lombard Street and North Mississippi Avenue, the driver weaving and speeding, then striking a guardrail.
At 7:40 a.m., Fairview police got a call about a white van in a pond at Northeast 223rd Avenue and Northeast Marine Drive. Officers found a suspect in a nearby field.
A witness told KGW it was a terrifying sight. "I see a man in the bike lane and we see the white van coming down, speeding, I mean going crazy fast. I mean too close for comfort," said Jenny Hunter, who works nearby. "The guy gets hit, knocked off his bike and the van just keeps going down the street."
The suspect was taken to a local hospital for treatment and was questioned by police as well. Investigators said his motive remains unclear.
