The lower road at Portland International Airport turned into a crime scene Monday when an apparent carjacking left a man in the intensive care unit after he was thrown from a moving SUV.
Witnesses told investigators that a man jumped into the driver’s seat of a Nissan Rogue while the owner was loading passengers on the airport’s lower roadway. The vehicle took off as people scrambled. One person who tried to hang on to the door was briefly dragged, and a back-seat passenger was hurled onto the pavement. Part of the lower road was shut down for a short time as officers swarmed the area, leaving travelers and airport staff rattled by what several described as a chaotic and frightening scene.
Port of Portland Police later tracked the stolen Rogue to a Dutch Bros parking lot at 8169 Northeast Air Cargo Road and ultimately arrested 52-year-old Vidal Pedraza near 8975 Northeast Airport Way, according to police and court records. Investigators reviewing CCTV footage said it showed Pedraza jumping into the driver’s seat and dragging a man who grabbed the door handle, then swerving, hitting a curb and sending a passenger rolling off the road. Court filings say that passenger suffered five broken ribs, a concussion, memory loss and head wounds that required staples and remains in the ICU. These details are laid out in court documents and police reports, according to KATU.
Federal Crackdown On Carjackings In The Background
The Portland case surfaces as federal authorities roll out a coordinated push against carjackings and violent auto theft. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon last year joined a multi-agency carjacking task force that pools federal firepower with the FBI and ATF to identify, investigate and prosecute carjacking cases. The task forces are designed to jump in when crimes cross city or state lines or when patterns suggest a broader criminal network, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon.
Charges, Criminal History And What Comes Next
Court records show Pedraza is being held on nearly 20 counts, including two counts of robbery, six counts of assault, two counts of theft, two counts of reckless endangerment and a series of additional vehicle and criminal mischief charges while prosecutors review the case. Past filings indicate he has prior convictions in California and that he failed to appear for an arraignment last Friday in an earlier case.
Pedraza told investigators he had been awake for five days and said he took the car because he wanted to get home to Los Angeles, according to KATU.
The Multnomah County court docket will determine the final slate of charges along with the timing of arraignments and hearings. Port of Portland Police are leading the criminal investigation and have not released further public information about terminal security or any potential changes following the incident.
